Since we are mandated to live at a ‘social distance’ I’m spending
every evening at home. On some of those
long nights, I pulled out albums and boxes of old photographs. Last week I
found grainy black and white pictures from 1956 of a toddler. Further searches turned
up pictures of once skinny kid, a gangly teen, and a newly in love young man.
Each photo marked a time along the road to maturity. This time of disruption of
life has also provided me an opportunity to think about another kind of growth
in my life. I may have reached physical
maturity a long time ago, but I intend to keep
growing emotionally, mentally, and spiritually as long as God gives me
breath. How about you?
Peter puts a warning
and a call in one short passage. After
speaking of God’s faithful promises, he says "be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of
lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.." (2 Peter 3:17-18, NIV) In the flow of life we cannot stand still. We must ‘grow on’ or we will die by inches.
So what does it mean to ‘grow in grace?’ Grace is one of those rich words of the Bible,
meaning ‘a gift.’ In the larger context,
grace speaks of the overflowing life of the Spirit, the beauty and joy to be
found in His favor. Peter is not inviting us to join a small elite group with ‘insider’
knowledge, nor is he asking us to enter into a pinched, joyless life of
deprivation. Often Christian growth is
mistakenly turned into mastery of fine details of theology or a life that is
closed to anything resembling happiness or pleasure. In truth, maturity
brings a steady kind of character, a deep and unmovable faith, a life of
worship and service that appears almost effortless because it flows out of
a heart that is full of the gifts of God’s Spirit.
Growth is a deep work of the Spirit that reveals the unchanging
God to us in ways that transform us. When we walk with Him He meet us at the
point of our need with the Truth that brings hope. That person who is led by
the Spirit, who has allowed the experiences of life – good and bad, pleasant
and unpleasant – to strengthen faith is a resource to the Body of Christ, one
who increases faith and offers loving wisdom because he has learned to discern right and wrong, best
from better.
If you are full of anxiety, fearing that you might fail, or
the ‘collapse’ of your life in this crisis, pray to grow, focused on the processes
of maturity. Let God turn these days into a time of anticipation of what can be discovered as the ‘normal’ is
removed, the assumptions about what is true and right challenged by this
confusing, disruptive experience.
Spiritual growth does
not ‘just happen.’ Some Christians
are in a state of ‘arrested development.’ Consider this - "You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be
teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things
a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only
milk and cannot eat solid food. And a person who is living on milk isn’t very
far along in the Christian life and doesn’t know much about doing what is
right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to
recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.
So
let us stop going over the basics of Christianity again and again. Let us go on
instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start
all over again with the importance of turning away from evil deeds and placing
our faith in God." (Hebrews 5:12-6:1, NLT)
Little children need black and white rules. In their
immaturity they cannot grasp the importance of a good diet, of proper rest, why
they need to brush their teeth, or the value of doing their math homework. So
they have parents who provide boundaries. A wise parent knows how to encourage maturity
by appropriately relaxing the rules and encouraging experiences that create
character and the strength to think beyond today in decision-making. Grown up Christians move beyond the ‘do this’
and ‘don’t do that’ kind of Christianity that is spoon-fed to them by their
teachers, developing the depth of character of Christ that lets them live
securely, joyfully, and in the beauty of heart holiness.
Paul teaches us that person who is growing in the Spirit is
forward looking, able to let yesterday’s failure and success go, a person ‘in
process.’ "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been
made perfect,(complete or whole) but I press on to take hold of that for which
Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have
taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take
such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God
will make clear to you." (Philippians 3:12-15, NIV)
Whether you’re 18 or 81, growth is happening. There truths
to discover about the Lord that wait just around the next corner in life. The
Gospel of Christ, while unchanging in Truth, is constantly adapting to the
world in which it is proclaimed. You can look back on yesterday, paralyzed by
regret or fond remembrance, or you can pray, “Lord, take me deeper still!”
The word from the Word is a restatement of that passage
where we started today. Meditate on it. Prayerfully invite the Spirit to lead beyond apathy
and arrested development into the ‘grace’ of mature spiritually.
"So, my dear
friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to
be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master’s
patient restraint for what it is: salvation. … But you, friends, are
well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet
by these lawless and loose-talking teachers. Grow in grace and understanding of
our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever!
Yes!" (2 Peter 3:14-18, The Message)
__________
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus' Name
Christ alone cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Savior's love
Through the storm He is Lord
Lord of all
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
My anchor holds within the veil
He is Lord Lord of all
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless stand before the throne
Edward Mote | Eric Liljero | Jonas Myrin | Reuben Morgan |
William Batchelder Bradbury
© 2011 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by
Capitol CMG Publishing)
CCLI License # 810055
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