If the conditions are right . . . growth happens

Spending time with someone results in a rubbing off of some of that person’s characteristics. We lived in Southern California and our daughter picked up a slight drawl. We lived in Illinois where our son went to school with a boy from the Bronx. He soon talked with that particular accent. I have a friend that moved to an adjacent province and do not talk to her enough, but when we do spend our two hours on the phone, I come away thinking more deeply about things, and feeling the energy of her creative mind.

The Lord promises to use all things in my life to transform me into the image of His Son. Is there anything I can do to assist the process? How can I become more like Jesus? The answer is obvious; spend time with Him, both reading about Him and talking with Him.

I want to be like this perfect God-Man who never sinned because sin is my biggest stressor, but there are other advantages. Spending time with Him keeps me steadfast in my determination to be spiritually mature. It also keeps me from falling into unbiblical thinking and spiritual or moral error.

2 Peter 3:17-18 says, “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

The author of my devotional book says that spiritual growth isn’t a clever secret or a psychological formula, but rather simply matching my practice with my position.

As a believer, Colossians 2:10 says I am “complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Complete is not about halfway, but about having all I need.

2 Peter 1:3-4 says this mouthful: “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Again, these two verses declare that God has given me all that I need to live a godly life.

Ephesians 1:3 tells me Jesus Christ has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Again, I have all I need. I am to live that way, matching my practice with my position.

This position/practice thing could be compared to a newly enlisted soldier. He is in the army and can be called a soldier, but at this early stage of his military career, he has not yet learned to act like one. Spiritual life is like that. God put me in His family and gave me Jesus Christ — all that I need. I am a Christian, but in the beginning, and even now, I am still learning how to act like what I am. I do that by grace (God’s unconditional blessing) as I draw near to His Son and learn about Him.

Today’s devotional adds another thought: giving glory to God is directly related to spiritual growth. The more I exalt Him (and the less I focus on me), the more I grow to be like Jesus. My children did not study or try to imitate the speech patterns of their friends. That would be phoney, affected and self-centered. Instead, they just enjoyed their friends, spent time with them, and those accents just happened. Growing in grace is like that; by spending time with Jesus, it just happens.