Grow 4

Romans 12:2

We’ve all heard the saying, “If I knew then what I know now.” Looking back at my childhood, teen years, years in college – even the first years of married life – I can sometimes cringe with the foolish decisions I made. I get angry with the “me” of the past and how timid I was, how easily manipulated and intimidated by others.

With maturity and growth – physical, mental and emotional – comes more abilities and a stronger faith. As I grow physically older and more experienced I am more able to deal with the situations of life and I am better at standing firm in the face of adversity.

In his letter to the Romans Paul offers encouragement on spiritual maturity. What should believers NOT do? What should we do? What will we be able to do when we are transformed?

Our faith and our relationship with God is a journey, a growth process. Just like our bodies and minds, our beliefs and spiritual abilities take time to grow and develop.

When we are immature in our faith we can be easily manipulated and led astray. But with time, through experiences and Biblical study, our faith can grow into a deeper maturity. We gain strength and ability in our souls as we move forward in faith, as we stand the trials and challenges in life.

If we can apply ourselves to our spiritual growth, if we can nurture our souls and work to be stronger Christians we can be renewed in our spirit. We can have a stronger faith and greater abilities at living out our faith. We can grow to be more like Jesus in our attitudes and actions.

And with that growth we become more complete. We become more whole as believers. The more mature we grow as believers the closer we come to the perfection Jesus calls for in Matthew 5:48. We become more able to live according to the perfect will of God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can your faith be transformed into a more complete faith?