Called To Spiritual Growth, To Go Into Our World, And Reproduce Our Faith
The Stages Of Spiritual Growth Parallel Physical Growth
First, we are born and begin life as an infant. Then we grow into toddlers. Then adolescents. Then teenagers and on to adults.
Likewise, we have a spiritual birth. In John 3:7, Jesus said, “You must be born again.” At the point of our spiritual rebirth, we begin our faith journey with Jesus and begin to develop and grow spiritually.
As physical babies we were fed and nurtured by another’s hand, completely dependent upon our parents for our very basic needs in life. Then we began to grow and develop in strength and knowledge..
My husband and I love looking back at videos of our grandchildren from their birth. I loved the stage of them learning to walk, struggling to stand straight and steady and then beginning to take those first steps.
In those first few weeks of learning to walk they wobbled and sometimes toppled. I remember how we focused on them and stayed close by, trying to protect them from getting hurt when they fell. Then they learned to maintain their balance and walk more and more steady.
However, as they grew and explored their expanding world, they sometimes fell and got hurt. But they got back up and went again, each time getting stronger and smarter.
Spiritual growth in our journey in Christ is much the same, a process of growing up, sometimes falling down but continuing to get up, learning, growing, and getting stronger.
Our Calling To Go Into Our World And Reproduce
One day, we become adults, we marry and have babies. In other words, we produce fruit from our marriage relationship. Then we instill our faith and values in our children.
Spiritually speaking, there comes a point in our spiritual growth that we take our faith into the world and start producing fruit, i.e. spiritual babies. I am sure you understand that I am not talking about physical babies, but people of any age who experience that spiritual rebirth that Jesus spoke about in John 3:7.
Our spiritual growth and reproduction of our faith is how we fulfill our specific calling as related to Jesus final words to His disciples before He ascended to heaven.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
And of course, don’t forget the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and low, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19
We are God’s witnesses in this world, and Jesus instructed us to make disciples. Making disciples means sharing our faith and instilling our faith and God’s values into those spiritual babies, adolescents, teenagers, and adults that God brings into our lives. No matter what stage of our spiritual journey, we aren’t there yet. Spiritual growth continues until our final breath, and spiritually growing others should as well.
Three Main Ways Spiritual Growth Happened For Us:
1) God pursued us.
The Bible shows us that we don’t pursue God first, He pursues us. If we come to faith in Christ, it is because we responded to Him drawing us to Himself with His great love.
We love Him because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44
2) People demonstrated their faith before us.
I love the way Paul pictured the process and cycle of spiritual growth in 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7.
And you became followers of us and of the Lord,
having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.
1 Thessalonians 1:6-7
We first become followers and then we become examples. That is my story. People in my life lived out their faith in such a way that I began to want what I saw in their lives. Not only did they live out their faith, they shared it with their words.
3) Someone spoke the truth to us in love.
I hope not to linger too long on this last point, but I must address my concern with teaching that I believe harms our impact in sharing Jesus and His gospel message. I have heard people over-emphasize the need to live out our faith in a way that doesn’t require us to say a word.
The problem being addressed comes from the issue of people living a life different from the way they profess. Our words and lives should line up to be the same.
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written,
"I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak,
2 Corinthians 4:18
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.
Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
2 Timothy 4:2
Yes, we absolutely need to live out our faith, but sharing our faith with our words holds the same level of importance. Speaking, preaching, and teaching (also Matthew 28:19) what we believe is our holy mandate as Christ followers.
The Result
Lives will be forever changed. And so, the cycle of spiritual growth, life, and reproducing continues, just as God intended.
Dear Sister in Christ, we carry the most valuable gift of the gospel. Our true faith in Jesus positively impacts our lives every single day. God intended our gospel gift to impact the lives of others as well. Today I leave you with Jesus’ words.
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand,
and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16
