Grow a Little or Grow a Lot?

Can you think of a time in your life when you knew what to do but you just didn’t do it? You had all the right information but you failed to use that information. Or maybe you started well but over time it became easier to fall back into old habits, and the end result was less than desirable. Think of New Year’s resolutions. Many people make them, they even begin on that journey, but truthfully, few really ever get where they had hoped to go because the ongoing commitment is lacking.

The same is often said of dieting and exercise – we often begin with good intentions only to slip back into old ways, and soon you find ourselves once again overweight and out of shape. Restoring a broken relationship. A daily Bible reading plan. Learning a new language or how to play an instrument. Those too sometimes fizzle out over time.    

The Christian life is often that same way. We begin our faith journey in the Spirit (Romans 8:9), but so often as the months and years go by we try to accomplish by the flesh (on our own) what we once relied on the Spirit for. Maturity does not come by self-effort.

It is true that to become more like Jesus – spiritual maturity – we need to turn from our own ways, doing things differently than in the past (Ephesians 4:20-24). But the power to do that does not come from within us. Rather, it comes by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. It can only come from God’s Spirit living in us and through us (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:13). It takes a day after day after day commitment.

To the early Christian community in the province of Galatia (in modern day Turkey) who were beginning to rely on themselves rather than God, the apostle Paul asked the following question. The same question can be asked of Christ-followers today.  

“Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!” (Galatians 3:2-4, MSG).

Just as plants need proper soil conditions along with the right balance of sunlight, shade, and water to grow and bloom, we need proper soul conditions, which is more of the Holy Spirit and less of us, to grow and bloom and become all that God intends us to be.

So, today being the first day of spring, the time when many of us begin thinking about what we will plant in our gardens and flower beds, are you content to only grow a little doing it your way, by your own efforts, or do you desire to blossom into all that God wants you to become by allowing the Spirit to grow you?

I recently wrote a blog post titled, “Spring is Coming,” in which I encourage all of us to ask God for new life, new growth. Click here to read that post.

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