GROW

As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may GROW thereby – 1 Peter 2:2

GROWTH is in God’s Heart for every living thing. Growth is a Sign of Life: every living thing in programmed to grow. Those that fail to grow soon decay and die. In contrast, decrease often indicates disease. God programmed Growth, Increase, Maturity, and Fruitfulness into creation (Gen.1:11). He is the Source of every beneficial form of Growth. Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the INCREASE” (1Cor.3:6). When we become Christians, we enter into a relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, that will cause us to grow. With His power, we are called to become more like Jesus in every way. This spiritual growth becomes a birthmark of our faith!

Growth is a ‘Must’, the dynamic of growth is change, and change is a ‘Constant’ in life. Your growth depends on your willingness to experience change. A positive attitude to change sees it as “opportunity for growth.” The reality of life is that growth is necessary to access the future God designed for you. Yet, He does not abandon you to struggle in a quest for growth. As you look up to Him, He creates in you the desire for growth. He empowers you to “pay the price” and enables you to do all that is needful to experience growth. The Lord exhorts: “consider the lilies of the field, how they GROW: they neither toil nor spin” (Mt.6:28). He who causes the lilies to grow is more than able to make you to blossom, flourish, and increase!

Here are seven Biblical dimensions of Growth against which you can measure progress:

Grow in the Word of God: “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may GROW thereby” (1Pet.2:2). Ponder on Paul’s Prayer: “that you may be filled with the KNOWLEDGE of His will in all WISDOM and spiritual UNDERSTANDING…being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the KNOWLEDGE of God” (Col.1:9b-10).

Grow in Grace: “But GROW in the GRACE and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (2Pet.3:18). Grace is in grades; and God demands that you continually grow in grace. You will either grow in grace or fall from faithfulness (2Pet.3:17).

Grow in Faith: “And the apostles said to the Lord, “INCREASE our FAITH” (Lk.17:5). Paul testified about the Corinthians: “having hope, that as your FAITH is INCREASED, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere” (2Cor.10:15).

Grow in Favor: “And the child Samuel grew in stature and in favor both with the LORD and with men” (1Sam.2:26). “And Jesus INCREASED in wisdom and stature, and in FAVOR with God and men” (Lk.2:52).

Grow in Spiritual Maturity and Christ’s Likeness: “till we all come to the unity of the faith and the KNOWLEDGE of the SON of GOD, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph.4:13).

Grow in Learning: “A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel” (Pro.1:5). Learning is a life-long assignment. Learning is living. To refuse to learn is to invite decay and destruction. Never stop reading, studying or learning new things. Always add value to your spiritual and mental assets. Learners are Leaders. Growth demands dissatisfaction with status-quo. You must constantly frustrate tradition with divine creativity and inspiration.

Growth in Multiple Dimensions: “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall GROW like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Psa.92:12-13). This speaks of all-round increase – in spiritual, material, financial, and physical blessings.

Growth is measurable. You can know whether you are growing, stagnant or depreciating. You grow spiritually as you increase in the knowledge of God’s Word. And your growth level is measured by the extent of your obedience to the Word.