What is God's greatest desire for every believer? One desire is for our fellowship with Him. What about His purpose for our lives? To state it in a simple way, He wants us to be like His Son. We call it spiritual maturity or spiritual growth. This is mentioned many times in the New Testament. Paul prayed that the Colossian Christians might grow in the knowledge of God. He hoped the Corinthians' faith might grow. Peter wrote that we should grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. How do we grow spiritually? Any growth is closely connected with adequate food and the right conditions. Peter wrote that we should "crave spiritual milk (food) so that by it we might grow." Spiritual growth is obviously linked with our reading, studying, and being fed on the words of God under the guidance of the Spirit of God. There can be no spiritual growth apart from this. It is very easy in our busy lives to find reasons for not spending time in God's word, which is His gift to us. Yet here is where it has its greatest impact. It is not merely reading the word that makes the difference, but our obeying it. Then our spiritual growth is dependent on our feeding on the word of God, plus our communing with God and thirdly allowing the Spirit of God to work in our lives. Remember also the right environment for spiritual growth is a vital relationship with other believers in prayer, in study, in worship, and in service. Tell God, your heavenly Father, that you want to grow and don't forget - no one is too old to start growing - spiritually. |
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