Growth in Christ

Have you ever wondered about going to the next level? Have you ever felt the annoyance of still struggling or getting tripped up by the same sin? Does your spirit talk to you, telling you that you need to grow in your faith? I've been there and I find myself there often. Once your faith becomes stagnate, it gets difficult to grow deeper in Christ. So, I hope to encourage you with scripture on growing in your faith.

Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:2-3, "Like newborn infants, desire the unadulterated spiritual milk, so that you may grow by it in your salvation, since you have tasted that the Lord is good." Assuming that you have been reborn, you have to go back to milk to sustain you. Milk, in this case, is the word of God. In other words, we must desire the word of God not only for sustenance, but also for growth. This passage also implies that since you are saved, you already know of God's goodness (grace and mercy). This will also drive the desire to feed off of His word. Peter also mentions that we need to supplement our faith to help us become well rounded in Christ. Let's jump over to 2 Peter 1:5-8 to view the supplements he mentions. "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Peter put it straight forward; these supplements have to be added to your faith to assist with your growth in our Lord, but to also ensure that you aren't useless to kingdom business. This is all apart of growing in our Lord Jesus Christ, I can assure that it will take time and much effort.

Distractions in growth are a daily thing. TV, magazines, the company you keep, family issues, the internet, problems on the job, these are all things that will take your focus from growth in the Lord. I know, I have to deal with these things as well, and sometimes these distractions pull a lot of energy from you. Nonetheless, we must drive and spend time in the word daily, for these distractions are no joke.

Imagine this: you're a farmer getting ready to plant seed and tend to your land. Your hands are on the plow and you're ready to work, however, you keep looking back at your home thinking, " Man, I wish I could go back to bed for a couple of hours". Surely, you can see that this type of behavior won't get the job done; the seeds have to be planted, but you're distracted by your desire for sleep. Jesus warns of this type of thinking/behavior with a painful consequence. Luke 9:62 says, But Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." Let's look at this and the imagery I gave you in the growth aspect. You can't make any progression and move forward if you're looking back. What did Jesus mean when He said looking back? I believe that He meant looking back at your former self and the sins that stained your character. How can you grow in Christ when you still desire premarital sex? How can you grow in the knowledge and grace of Christ when you still desire to partake in the sin that caused beef between you and God? You get what I'm saying? When you're heart and mind aren't in unison, growth in Christ won't be a top priority.

Going back or desiring the sins that held you bound is crazy. Galatians 4:9 sums up it nicely. "But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and bankrupt elemental forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?" This is what happens to the Christian who loses focus on growing and knowing Jesus. The Christian will eventually go into a back-slider state and fall back into the same sins or desires that held them bound in the beginning. That's not a good place for a Christian to be spiritually.

In the end, growth in Christ is a must. There's no way around it, we have to progress in this Christian walk. Either that or you will fall back into the same filthiness that angers God. Trust me, I've been there too. Brethren, dive into the word and spend time with the Lord. Please continue to fight, our lives are on the line. Literally. God Bless.