The Christian’s Spiritual Growth 1

Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had

Galatians 4:1 NLT

When our children were younger, we had domestic helpers working for us, different ones  at different times. However, they all shared one commonality: they never felt truly free. No matter how much we encouraged them to feel at home, they always felt like hired hands and lived as cautiously as possible. Our children, on the other hand, felt free. They believed the house was theirs and always felt comfortable, but ultimately, their freedom was also restricted. These restrictions were usually a means of regulating the potential excesses that might have arisen due to the perceived freedom they had.

Now, considering these two groups of people, the restriction on one person’s freedom was temporary and conditional, while the other was permanent. The age of the assistant didn’t matter; they always felt the restraint. For a child, however, the restrictions only needed to last until they grew up, took responsibility, and the supervision gradually waned.

For example, while our children were young, we instructed and empowered the assistant not to turn on the TV for more than a certain number of hours. They were responsible for hiding the remote and denying the children access. However, as the children grew up, they developed a sense of responsibility that watching TV for long hours would rob them of valuable time for other meaningful activities in their lives. This exercise of personal self-control is a sign of growth. As they begin to apply this responsible living to other areas of their lives, we can trust them with more and more things, eventually even handing over the family business to their care.

Growth is not about age, but about how the increasing years reflect a change in lifestyle. A 40-year-old man without any clear direction in life and who needs constant prompting for even minor tasks cannot claim to be more mature than a 25-year-old CEO who built a business from scratch.

In the same way, God wants us to take responsibility for our spiritual growth. We grow through our engagement with God’s word and through regular interaction with him in prayer. Knowing this, we must hold ourselves accountable for diligently practising these habits. Ultimately, our growth will become evident as our lives become more Christ-like. It is in keeping with this growth that God grants us access to greater things in proportion to our spiritual maturity.

Ask yourself today, are you actually growing or just counting time?

PRAYER