Day 23
How We Grow
Let God transform you inwardly
By a complete change of your mind.
Then you will be able
to know the will of God –
what is good and is pleasing
to him and is perfect.
Romans 12:2 TEV
In Rick Warren’s first line today, the pastor pulls no punches …
God wants you to grow up.
He’s talking about maturity.
His model is the disciples. They didn’t know or understand everything when they began to follow Jesus.
You and I don’t know everything either. Maturity comes when we realize that a million eternities will not be enough time to learn all about God! Therefore, maturity is not knowing it all, but learning to become completely dependent on the only, true source of life.
Sadly, too many people think they know it all. “Oh, I’ve studied that book of the Bible.” “Oh, I’ve heard a hundred sermons on this topic.” “Oh, that teacher has nothing new to say.”
I learned years ago that if I flew to a conference, rented a hotel room, and paid for my registration at an event, I might get only one thing out of the event. That was sometimes a thousand dollars for one thing. But if I got one thing that sparked an idea or encouraged my soul, it was worth it.
How many people quit coming to church or Bible Studies because they’re greedy for ten good things a minute? We forget the small step process. We demand to be entertained.
I can remember only two things my home pastor ever said in a sermon. Two jokes. But after ten years of listening to unmemorable sermons, the trickles of living water cut a deep canyon of faith and good theology in most of our hearts.
Maturity is listening. Patiently.
It is seeking depth. Not entertainment.
It is reveling in little truths. Not viewing incremental growth as big disappointment.
When one plants bamboo (which I don’t advise doing in North Carolina), it can take years before it sprouts up. It looks like a failure. But what has it been doing in the meantime? Developing its roots. It can then sprout up something like a dozen feet in a month.
It took Jesus thirty years of preparation before the Spirit descended upon him in a new way at his baptism. I wonder if his mother, Mary, ever wondered if this Messiah – the one who was supposed to change the world – was looking more like a failure than a king. (Probably not. She trusted God … and she was his mom!) But what was Jesus doing? Developing his roots … his knowledge … and his relationship. God was preparing him.
Are you willing to take thirty years – if that’s what necessary – for your greatest fruit to arrive?
Try day-by-day. “Closer, Lord, I pray.”
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who wants to look
like a grand canyon
(and I mean deep … not wrinkled)
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