Category: Growth

Galatians 6:9                                               Growth While Freezing

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (NIV).

 

There’s a plant that actually thrives in conditions that would kill most plants, including snow cover and temperatures well below freezing.  And this plant is used as a food source, particularly in the baking of various types of breads.  This plant that defies nature is called winter wheat.  It is planted in the fall and is ready for a spring harvest.  It begins growing in the fall and becomes acclimated to the cold as the fall temperatures cool, and it needs even colder temperatures in order to produce seeds in the spring.  Some varieties even withstand temperatures lower than ten degrees below zero.  As temperatures warm, the plants resume growing, and seeds begin to form.  The plant is not harmed by low temperatures and snow. In fact, it does not grow well if the winter is not cold.  Winter wheat can even be used as a cover crop to help control weeds.   Okay, so what does winter wheat have to do with the life of a Christian?

Many of us experience times when we are not particularly spiritually active, perhaps a period we could call a spiritual malaise.  I am not advocating that we lower our spiritual activity on purpose, but it is good to remember that the same God who created winter wheat that thrives in cold times, also created us.  I am sure that if He cares enough to create a plant that thrives in the cold, He recognizes that we may experience spiritual lows, and He provides for growth during these times, as if we were gathering strength to burst forth in bloom ready for a harvest after the cooler times end.  So be encouraged by the story of winter wheat which brings forth a harvest after enduring cold times.  If we are willing, God will quicken the seed within us and bring us out from spiritual darkness into the light of springtime harvest.

2 Peter 1:5-8                                             Grow As the Son Shines

“For this very reason, make very effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NIV).

 

Sunrise in the Grand Canyon on a hazy day—the sunlight kind of creeps in across the landscape and eventually drives the haze away making for a bright clear day.  As the sunrise ages and grows, there is beauty throughout the process.  This incremental process brightens until the entire landscape is bathed in sunshine.

We can compare our growth in Christ to the sunrise in that we continue to grow as we learn, and the growth is a process, as the verse above indicates.  None of us are greatly effective and productive the moment we accept Jesus as Lord.  We may have much to learn, and there is beauty in every step we take toward the goal of becoming like Christ.  I think I can also say that none of us are ever fully grown in Him here on earth, but as we grow in Him, we increase in beauty, and, as the Scripture implies, we become more and more effective and productive.  I’m not sure that Peter meant the above list to be strictly in the order presented.  I hope I don’t have to go through faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, and godliness before I can show mutual affection and love to my fellow believers.  Perhaps after progressing through the entire list, my love for my fellow believers and for the lost as well, becomes deeper and more burning in my heart.

I know that there are times when I have forgotten some things I have learned in this list and need to go back to reacquaint myself with the particulars of each area of growth.  I do know that moving through the list can be daunting even though it is necessary.  Each quality listed adds blessings to our lives and improves our attitudes and actions toward others.

Lord, please let me know when I need a review of these qualities and guide me through the relearning I need.

Job 8:7                                                                                 Growth

“Even though you’re not much now, you’ll end up better than ever” (MSG).

 

In Job 8, Job’s friends took him to task regarding what had happened in his life, but even in their criticism they have some encouragement.  For example, Bildad said, in the Scripture above: “…you’ll end up better than ever.”  And he was correct.  The end of Job’s life contained even more blessings than the beginnings did.  The same is true of flowers, as I have found out the past few years.

We bought flowers at the local nursery and planted them, and then the work began.  It’s not easy to grow flowers and keep them blooming during the hot days of a Tucson summer.  They take constant care, frequent watering.  Taking a few days off in the growth of flowers in a Tucson summer does not work unless you are looking for dry, withered twigs.  The flowers need frequent watering and even a cooling spray during the afternoon.  The summer heat in Tucson is merciless to young flowers.  With proper care and attention, flowers can maintain their beauty throughout the summer season even in Tucson.

Our lives as Christians may resemble the growth of flowers planted in Tucson in the spring.  Flowers bought from a nursery are full of blooms and look like they will thrive forever.  The new Christian appears much the same way—vigorous and full of promise.  And that is true:  every new believer has immense prospects for growth.  After all, the master gardener, the one most able to help us discover and grow into our fullness as a follower of Christ is with us every day.  One big difference between us and flowers is the fact that we choose whether we get fed or not and just how much we get fed.  We are fed and watered through the reading of the Word, prayer, gathering with other believers to hear and learn, and quiet contemplation of God’s remarkable creation.  When we accept the feeding, we find ourselves fed with the choicest of nourishment, and our growth is awesome.