Volume 2 Post/Email 3 – 1 Peter 2:1-3
Did you ever wish when you were a child that you would grow up faster?
I know at times I did. I saw older friends and cousins driving, so I wanted to start driving – I saw them working, so I wanted to start working – I desired to start making all of my own decisions, and such.
Now, there are days where I wish I could go back to being a kid, playing little league baseball, having fun outside with my brothers and neighborhood friends, and had fewer responsibilities.
Anyway, my direction with this is that there are moments now where I wish I would grow up faster as a Christian. Perhaps you have experienced similar frustration. Yes, you can see ways that you have grown from year to year, but you still see so much more room for transformation, and wish you were further along in your spiritual journey.
There are days where I feel like a spiritual amateur, or as Bryant Terry from church would comment in class, “I’m in spiritual kindergarten.” I see men and women of faith that are so far ahead of me, and such incredible examples, and wish I were there myself. I could list many examples, but 2 that are very much needed in life (and ministry) are the ones I am mentioning.
One example is prayer. I cannot remember when I did not believe in it. It was taught and practiced in my home all of my childhood. However, it has only been the last few years that I have felt like more than an amateur at praying, and this is my fault for a lack of consistent devotion, study and practice. I now want and seek a richer and deeper life of daily worship and prayer. Prayer is like the ocean. No one has completely fathomed its depths, but even the smallest child can play in the waves by the shore. I feel like that child, still a beginner, playing in the shallow water. Praying the Psalms, having regular spiritual conversations and prayer with Jamie, reading books on God's love by Brennan Manning, meditating on N.T. Scriptures, and learning afresh from Jesus in the gospels, have all been tremendously helpful and refreshing for me.
As a second example, I desire to have my dad's patience. For all of you who know him, you know he is pretty much the epitome of patience, especially when dealing with difficult people. Through the years I have seen him treat people with such love and gentleness who were not treating him or the church with much love, respect or fairness, and think, "How does he do it?" I praise God for him, my mom, of course Jamie, and all the people God has put into my life to bless me in some way. Hopefully we can all say God has blessed us with wonderful Christian friends and family who love and encourage us.
So the point is, all of us have growing to do, and those who are ahead of us did not get where they are overnight either. Thus, what I find the Scriptures emphasize (Jeremiah 18:3-6, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Galatians 5:22-23, Philippians 2:12-13, 1 Peter 2:1-3, 2 Peter 1:5-7, etc.) is spiritual growth being both a personal decision and a process. It takes time to experience transformation, grow spiritual fruit, and become more like Christ. Furthermore, the key is not to compare ourselves with others, but to simply make sure we are personally and actively seeking God, reading His word, and allowing the Holy Spirit to bear fruit in our life, even if we aren’t where someone else is concerning bible knowledge, or prayer, or patience, or generosity, or compassion, or humility, or speech, or enthusiasm, faith, and so forth.
1 Peter 2:1-3 reads, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
I love the simile and encouragement of this passage!
1. We can decide to grow in faith, Christ-like character and holiness. We begin seeing the fruit of this decision by choosing to rid ourselves of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and any form of slander.
2. We start as a spiritual newborn, and begin developing spiritual muscles and growing stronger as a Christian slowly but surely by the milk of God’s word. Thus, a new Christian is not expected by God to be where an older Christian is spiritually, but is expected to begin (and continue) the process of growing in maturity.
Two things I reminded my High School students of two weeks ago as we began an intense study on the challenging issue of theodicy and the story of Job. First, I told them that so many of them are much further along in their faith and insight than I was at their age, which I see as a good thing. I am frequently impressed by a statement or point someone makes in class, or by a concept one develops in a writing assignment. So I affirmed where they are, while still encouraging them to keep growing. Secondly, I expressed that while I might be an adult and a "teacher", that everyone has growing to do, and that on theological matters we study no one has a monopoly on God or the Bible, and on faith and discipleship issues everyone can be challenged in some way to grow more in Christ. This is not to excuse any careless behavior, but is simply a matter of fact.
I want to conclude by reiterating, let's not be discouraged because we are not at the same spiritual place as those who are stronger in the faith, but be thankful for their examples. Be encouraged by older and stronger Christians, other ministers, examples in Scripture like Job and the apostle Paul, and especially and obviously Christ. As we let God use us this week, let's be grateful for the growth we have already experienced in Christ, and eagerly aspire to continue growing in His love and grace.
-Brian
