Growing Up

           When I was born, there was no such thing as a cell phone nor a camera on a phone so photographs were taken using some sort of film. The first picture I ever recall of myself was one where I was sitting on my Mother's lap with one leg tucked under the other. The picture had then been “colored” with a blue tint that brought the picture to life. It was a good picture but I was pretty small at that time. In the following years, more pictures were taken but not like the present day barrage of photos. Film was expensive as everything else was and so you didn't just go around taking twenty different shots of the same thing. Eventually, I grew up to be about 5 feet 10 inches tall and about 125 pounds. As I have aged through the years, the weight has gone up and the height has gone down. I sometimes remarked, “I went from a string bean to a Lima bean.” Growth takes place in all areas of our lives, even our spiritual life. Second Peter 3:18 says, “

        But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” We like to call the process,”sanctification.” It is the process whereby we grow spiritually and it is a lifetime process. Peter also remarked in his first epistle that we were like spiritual babies that required milk in order to grow. In his first mention of this in 1 Peter 2:2-3, Peter remarked that we should desire the “milk of the Word” as a baby desires milk in order survive. In the beginning of our Christian lives, we knew perhaps only that we were sinners in need of a Savior and that we couldn't do it ourselves. Then, in the simplicity of the Scriptures, we found out that God had loved us so much that He had sent His Son to die for us, in our place, as our substitute, on the cross and that by believing in Him we could have eternal life. We didn't know how it worked, but it did. We had not seen God face to face, but we believed in Him for salvation. Our knowledge of Scriptures was small and perhaps only included areas like the “Romans Road to Salvation.” We didn't have the answers to a lot of questions, but we did know what God had done in our lives. Then came the process of spiritual growth. Peter remarked that we should grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. How are we going to do that. We do it by being in His Word, the Bible. We read it, we listen to it, we study it, we memorize it and we meditate on it. Our lives are to be centered on nothing else but the Word of God. That is how growth takes place. Soon, your new life leads you to an intimate and satisfying relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ simply because of what He has done for you. Some may ask if they can possibly have this type of relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and the answer is “yes, you can.” If you have never done so, read the Gospel of John as John points out how Jesus Christ is the Son of God and thereby fully capable of making salvation possible for you. Our bodies will naturally age and the process will continue whether we like it or not. Our spiritual relationship, however, will not naturally progress on its own. You and I need to saturate ourselves with the Word of God. Praise God today for the fact that we are able to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can do it through the Words of Scripture.