We are truly excited about having our first grandson. With his living eight hours away, we had not seen him since he was a week old until last weekend. It was amazing to see how much he had grown. He had doubled his birth weight and is starting to smile. Our time together went by so fast but we are already looking forward to the next time we see him. I fully anticipate that the next time we see him we will see yet more growth and more personality.
What if that were true of Christians? What if those who have not seen us in a while could notice how much we had grown? What if they could see our joy in Christ? What if they looked forward to seeing us because they knew they would see that we were growing up in Christ? Why does growth seem, dare I say, almost absent in many of our lives? Babies grow if they are healthy. Christians should grow. Besides not growing, many that profess Christ are not vitally connected to the church. Some estimates say that up to 61% of those in their twenties that were involved in church in the teenage years are spiritually disengaged. It kind of makes you wonder, does it not?
I am sure there are many reasons for the lack of growth among so many of us, but this much I know- a healthy Christian will grow. But, just as a baby must have a healthy mother from which to nurse, so a Christian needs to be joined to a healthy body. Do you see this? Could the reason that so few are growing have to do with the health of those of us in the church that have been on the journey a while? As a pastor, I am more and more inclined to believe that when we have a “birth” that the nourishment provided comes from a body that is not all that healthy. It might be worth thinking about- am I growing? Am I spiritually healthy enough to nourish another? If not, why?
Just as I want to see my grandson growing and am excited to observe his progress so far, as a pastor, I want to be growing and I want to see others doing the same. By the way, how spiritually healthy do you believe you are right now? Give it some thought. I am!
What if that were true of Christians? What if those who have not seen us in a while could notice how much we had grown? What if they could see our joy in Christ? What if they looked forward to seeing us because they knew they would see that we were growing up in Christ? Why does growth seem, dare I say, almost absent in many of our lives? Babies grow if they are healthy. Christians should grow. Besides not growing, many that profess Christ are not vitally connected to the church. Some estimates say that up to 61% of those in their twenties that were involved in church in the teenage years are spiritually disengaged. It kind of makes you wonder, does it not?
I am sure there are many reasons for the lack of growth among so many of us, but this much I know- a healthy Christian will grow. But, just as a baby must have a healthy mother from which to nurse, so a Christian needs to be joined to a healthy body. Do you see this? Could the reason that so few are growing have to do with the health of those of us in the church that have been on the journey a while? As a pastor, I am more and more inclined to believe that when we have a “birth” that the nourishment provided comes from a body that is not all that healthy. It might be worth thinking about- am I growing? Am I spiritually healthy enough to nourish another? If not, why?
Just as I want to see my grandson growing and am excited to observe his progress so far, as a pastor, I want to be growing and I want to see others doing the same. By the way, how spiritually healthy do you believe you are right now? Give it some thought. I am!
1 comment:
where's the pics?
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