We all have to start somewhere and our salvation is where we begin our Christian journey. God promises to never leave us and will answer our prayers when we call on him. We have a brand new life in Him. We are reborn—‘born in the Spirit’!
When we are born physically, as infants we rely completely on our parents/caretakers to provide for all our needs. This includes housing, clothes, food, emotional health, medical care and everything in between. We, as tiny babes, can only ingest milk that requires very little work for our little bodies to do, except accept the nourishment which helps us grow.
As we get older we are introduced to chunkier baby food, perhaps a different milk, juices and other foods which only require gentle chewing. After all, we are still getting our teeth!
By the time we are five years old we are enrolled in an educational plan, which carries us through elementary, middle school and finally high school. We graduate and then make choices which determine which road we will take, sometimes for the rest of our lives. It may be college, join the workforce or military, get married or become an entrepreneur. There are lots of options and decisions! We have grown into an adult and are ready to face the world head on, believing we can handle whatever the world -or life- throws at us.
Being a Christian isn’t much different. While our parents nurture and guide us from infant- hood into our education and finally into adulthood; the Spirit nurtures and guides us into mature Believers who are able to follow the plan God has for us, if we are willing.
We ‘grow’ much as the small child on milk and soft foods first; doing our best to feed our mind, soul and emotions with God’s Words. We develop into middle school students, and even high schoolers, as we continue to grow with our peers in youth groups or study groups as a young adult. Our leaders, along with the Spirit, helps us understand and build on our prayer life, how to dig deep into the Bible, our road map for life; and how to ‘grow’ our relationship with Christ.
Finally we’ve reached adulthood and are able to put the teaching we’ve been given to teach others, and share our faith with the knowledge we’ve learned. But still we aren’t finished.
Just as adulthood doesn’t stop when we reach 21- or whatever your ‘adulthood mark’ may be— our spiritual life as an adult never stops either. There is always something to learn, something to share, God’s voice to hear, and choices to make. All these things fold together to make us mature Christians who are able to accomplish whatever task and plan God has planned for us.
Ultimately it takes a lot of effort to ‘grow’. But just as education and life experiences molds us into the human adult we have become, so God’s Word and our relationship with Him transforms us into the Believer and servant for Christ, we were meant to be. It’s here we are better ready to answer the call from God for whatever plans he has for our lives.
Photo Credit: https://stock.adobe.com/search/images?k=spiritual%20growth
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