"but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ -
from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
Ephesians 4:15-16 (NKJV)
When I was growing up, my parents did the same thing that a lot of parents do, they checked the growth of their children. Our family had a spot in our house where at least once a year me and my three brothers would stand, and usually one of our parents would mark how tall we were. We also had regular checkups with the doctor to see how we had grown as well as seeing how we had developed. Just growing taller and getting older was not enough, there had to be some development along with the progression in height and age.
Growth and development are both important, naturally and spiritually. Someone may have gotten born again ten years ago, but if there is no spiritual development in their life then something is wrong. A Christian may have been in their church for many years, they may have been involved serving in the church in some way, and they may even know many Bible verses. But, while this does show some growth, it is not necessarily showing any spiritual development. As we see in Ephesians 4, we need to grow up spiritually and give our supply to the Body of Christ.
To have both spiritual growth and development in our life, we need more than just a number of years of being in a relationship with God. Is our relationship with God stronger than ever before? As we serve in our church, and even outside of the local church, is what we are doing making a positive contribution to what we are involved in, or are we just a warm body who fills a space? We may know many Bible verses, but are we speaking the truth in love or just throwing verses at people to prove our personal point? We need to check our spiritual growth and development to be sure we have both.
from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."
Ephesians 4:15-16 (NKJV)
When I was growing up, my parents did the same thing that a lot of parents do, they checked the growth of their children. Our family had a spot in our house where at least once a year me and my three brothers would stand, and usually one of our parents would mark how tall we were. We also had regular checkups with the doctor to see how we had grown as well as seeing how we had developed. Just growing taller and getting older was not enough, there had to be some development along with the progression in height and age.
Growth and development are both important, naturally and spiritually. Someone may have gotten born again ten years ago, but if there is no spiritual development in their life then something is wrong. A Christian may have been in their church for many years, they may have been involved serving in the church in some way, and they may even know many Bible verses. But, while this does show some growth, it is not necessarily showing any spiritual development. As we see in Ephesians 4, we need to grow up spiritually and give our supply to the Body of Christ.
To have both spiritual growth and development in our life, we need more than just a number of years of being in a relationship with God. Is our relationship with God stronger than ever before? As we serve in our church, and even outside of the local church, is what we are doing making a positive contribution to what we are involved in, or are we just a warm body who fills a space? We may know many Bible verses, but are we speaking the truth in love or just throwing verses at people to prove our personal point? We need to check our spiritual growth and development to be sure we have both.
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