This content was originally posted at jovanbarrington.com.
There’s a universal truth in this world God has created:
Healthy things grow.
Every green tree buds in the spring. Every fresh flower opens it’s petals. Every little bird learns to spread its wings and fly. Healthy things grow. We see it in all of nature around us. It’s by God’s design & by Gods desire…and it begs the question, “Are you growing?”
Paul once prayed this for the believers in Ephesus, “I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.” Ephesians 1.16-17
Here’s 5 ways I think you can experience a growing faith in Jesus Christ:
We believe that scripture is “God-breathed.” (2 Timothy 3.16-17) So if the word of God is God’s breath on a page, then we need to breathe deep the breath of God. We need to breathe deep the Gospel of God. Paul said it this way,
“But God is so rich in mercy, and he LOVED us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he GAVE us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been SAVED!)” (Ephesians 2.4-5)
God LOVED. God GAVE. God SAVED. This is the gospel. It’s the reminder that sin doesn’t make you bad & Jesus didn’t come to make you better. Sin made you dead & Jesus came to raise you back to life!
There’s a reason they don’t sell plants packaged in boxes. Plants need light to live. In the same way, you & I need the Light of Christ to experience real life. It’s when we remain in the darkness that we struggle to live. The good news is that at the center of God’s heart is His desire to move us into a position to grow, & that position is toward LIGHT. You can’t grow in Christ if you’re stuck in sin. Again, Paul says, “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.” (Ephesians 5.8-9)
We GROW in Christ when we TURN toward the LIGHT.
This is the point at which we differ from plants, at least most plants I know of. Because I can take a seed, plant it in rich soil, water it, put it in the light & give it plenty of time to grow & most of the time, it will grow. It can grow & become something beautiful all by itself. But you simply cannot.
You were never created to GROW alone. You were created to GROW TOGETHER.
Paul encourages the church this way, “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” (Ephesians 4.15)
When we speak the truth in love to each other — we GROW in Christ. Now this is critical, so I don’t want you to miss it. If we don’t speak the truth to each other in love, then we WON’T GROW. The absence of speaking truth = the absence of growth. Christ wants YOU to GROW because He wants US to GROW.
[Tweet “You were never created to GROW alone. You were created to GROW TOGETHER. #GROW”]My prayer is that you will experience a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3.20-21)
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