Growth In God Never Stops!

In The Last Days Newsletter, Leonard Ravenhill tells about a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village who walked by an old man sitting beside a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one tourist asked, "Were any great men born in this village?" The old man replied, "Nope, only babies." A trifling question brought a profound answer. There are no instant heroes--whether in this world or in the kingdom of God. Growth takes time, and as I Timothy 3:6 and 5:22 point out, even spiritual leadership must be earned.

It's a tragedy both on the physical level and the spiritual level for one to fail to grow or neglect to grow. When we were children, most of us had the fear that we would never grow up to adulthood. We could hardly wait to get there! Yet, we were were sympathetic toward those who for one reason or another did not fully develop physically or mentally.

It is absolutely necessary that we follow a program that will make spiritual maturity possible. This is true for many reasons. First, an immature, or baby Christian can't do the work of a mature Christian. Even as a growing boy would be terribly frustrated if he thought that he would never be able to do the work of a man, the baby Christian would be upset if he did not hope of someday being able to do the work of a full-grown Christian. Growth is absolutely essential if we would do the work God would have us to do, and which in our heart we want to do.

Next, let's face it, a baby Christian can't understand the deep things of God. Often parents will say to a child, "You are not old enough to understand." The writer of the book of Hebrews grieved over the spiritual immaturity of those to whom he was writing. He declared that their lack of growth made it impossible for them to understand the things he was trying to communicate to them.

He rebuked them because, at a time when they should have had the capacity to be teachers, they needed to be taught themselves. Instead of being able to eat the strong meat of the Word of God, they were infants on a milk diet (Hebrews 5:11-14).

Additionally, a baby Christian who does not grow cannot escape discontentment and unhappiness. Many of the conflicts that plague the fellowship of the church are the direct results of the distressed unhappiness of those who are still in the spiritual nursery when they ought to be mature, or old enough to vote in the spiritual realm. Paul declared that one of the problems that disrupted the fellowship of the church at Corinth was the immaturity of many of the members (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

Lastly, a baby Christian will receive only a baby's reward. Did it ever occur to you that if you never grow and develop so as to become an effective servant of the Lord, you will not receive greater responsibility and greater rewards? As training and preparation prepare one for a better income, so growth, training, and experience make possible a greater responsibility here and a greater reward in heaven for the children of God.

So what do you think? Are you a baby Christian? If so, you don't have to stay that way. Maybe you're an "adolescent" who is in the process of growing toward spiritual maturity? Perhaps you are rejoicing in the privilege of being spiritually mature and effective in the service of the Lord? In this case, don't just sit there resting on your laurels! You can continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Growth in God never stops!

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:18

Let's pray:

I thank You, Father, for Your grace which was given to me by Christ Jesus, that I will continue to be enriched in everything by You, in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in me, so that I come short in no gift; eagerly waiting for the revelation of my Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm me to the end, that I will be blameless in the day of my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen (1 Corinthians 1:4-8)

God bless you,

Faith