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By definition, growing means to increase, to develop, to reach maturity, and to thrive. To grow implies change in our appearance, nature, attitude, or character of an individual. If change does not occur, well then, there seems to be something wrong, there could be a stunted growth. Job 8:7 says, “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.” Growing is a continuous process, until it reaches its maturity, but not to cause us to be stagnant.
Do you still remember what our parents were telling us back then during meal time? “Eat your food!”, “Eat vegetables for it will make you grow tall, strong, and healthy”, “Nope, you can’t drink coffee, it’s not good for you. It will stunt your growth”, and so on. As a child, we have believed these statements. And as we grow older, we have learned these statements to be true that stunted growth of physical bodies may really result from poor, inadequate nutrition.
Likewise, this could also happen in our spiritual growth. And what could possibly stunt Christians from growing spiritually? Well, there are so many factors that could affect or inflict our daily walk with God. To mention some, it’s the fast pace of technology, our career, lifestyle, and the things that this world offers. Even our peers could be a factor too in our spiritual growth. And every time God rebukes us with His Word and we tend to deny or defend our sins or wrong doings, it will basically result to stunted growth. Many books in the Bible, Hebrews 5 and 6, also in 1 Peter 2:1-2, warn us of some conditions that may stunt our growth as a child of God. We can be susceptible to all of these if we are not going to be cautious.
The Bible instructs us how to avoid stunted growth in the church, James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.” We should always act in accordance to the will of God. In another verse, Matthew 4:4 says, “that man should not live on bread alone but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.” Keep on feeding our minds with the Word of God, study, and meditate on it. We should be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that never ceases in yielding its fruits. Dive dip in our relationship with God, be deeply rooted and grounded in the basics of God’s word. And in Hebrews 10:25, it gives us a divine injunction not to turn away from the church of God. Let us focus on the things that are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18), to keep looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith. (Hebrew 12:2)
As a child of God, let us continue to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God (Philippians 4:13). Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Stop going over the basic teaching again and again, but keep on going and become mature in understanding. Let us continue to strive with endurance and perseverance in the word of God. There’s this saying from an unknown author, “When the enemy cannot destroy you, his job is to distract you. Be careful of what we entertain, sin fascinates before it assassinates.”
2 Peter 1:5-8
“Make every effort to add to our faith, goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control, and to self-control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, mutual affection, and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure they will keep you from being in effective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
There is no room for Christian stagnancy, remember our labor is not in vain, the time will come when God will give a tap on your shoulder saying “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” So keep growing and strive with endurance and perseverance for the glory of our God.
God bless us all!
