To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence
without fault and with great joy. Jude 24
This past Sunday we attended a service where the pastor taught this important truth. Growing up is a process. You can’t feed a 5 year old child, 10 years worth of food one day and then the next expect her to be a teenager. Growing up takes time. It’s no different for a believer… growing up into the Lord is a process. AND just like it would be indicative of something being wrong if a child didn’t grow up, so it is indicative of something wrong if a believer doesn’t mature in their faith over time.
It’s a conversation I have with my son frequently who has it in his head he’s supposed to know everything already. “Lad, you don’t have to apologize for not knowing something… all it means is that now you have a teaching moment. I get to help you learn something!”
Everything is a process you know? An orange ripens, a car is made, a rabbit is born and grows up, a job is started and in time is done smoothly, a 12 page paper is written (years in the making), or a house is built. It all takes time. It all is a process of being.
We need to remember that our faith is a process too. A learning and growing and becoming more like the Saviour we love and follow. Not only that though.. our brothers and sisters in Christ as learning and growing and becoming more like the Saviour too. It’s ALL a process for EVERYONE.
Let that sink in.
I need to let that sink in.
Just like I can tell a child “be careful, you might spill” and then seeing them spill time and again, until they learn what is the right amount to put in a glass if you plan to carry it. They learn it and then spilling doesn’t happen (unless there’s an unforeseen complication….. in our house that would be Miss Lizzie) 🙂
Knowing that the process of becoming more like Christ (sanctification is another word for it) is indeed a process. What does that mean for you?
I know for me it means time in prayer, time in God’s word, time listening to others.
All these things (prayer, God’s word, listening to others) tell me if my perspective is getting skewed, or if I need to slow down, or if I need to change what I am doing. It’s a necessary thing. Being in communion with God is a time taking event. A necessary part of the process in being part of the Lord’s family.
It makes me wonder, why do we rush around so? Why do we hurry each other to catch up or learn more or???? Why? Is there a reason we don’t stop and realize that we are all on the journey, and just like children growing up, we’ll learn important lessons at a different pace from another? Why can’t we be as patient with each other as the Lord himself is with us? Let us have a mindset to encourage and build each other up. Just as we’d say well done to a child learning a skill, or applauding a fellow finding a job, or a teen getting good grades on her report card. Let us applaud when a fellow believer finally gets something they have struggled with for far too long. That would be a goodly thing to don’t you think?
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