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Thursday Thoughts

January 18, 2024

How many of you shared this experience: My parents would mark my sisters and my height on a wide piece of woodwork every few months and document in pencil who was being measured and date it. When the grandchildren came along, the piece of woodwork got painted over and the grandchildren's height was recorded. Even though the oldest grandson is 33 and the youngest grandchildren (twins) are 23, the pencil marks are still on the woodwork behind the kitchen door. Great care is taken not to smear or destroy this piece of family history. I remember that my dad told one of the young grands that he was going to find a flat rock and tie it on their head so they wouldn’t grow anymore because he wanted them to stay just the way they were. They didn’t understand his joke and protested mightily.

For some reason, I woke up thinking about that one morning recently. It made me wonder if our spiritual growth were measured on the woodwork behind the kitchen door, how high would it be? Would we see that each season of our lives brings on growth? Or have we had a metaphorical rock tied to the top of our heads and not grown at all?

If growth hasn’t happened, perhaps it is because spiritual growth gets put on the back burner. Life gets crazy busy, circumstances may get difficult, marriages may break apart, children need attention, other family responsibilities may take lots of energy, jobs may be all-consuming, addictions to any number of things, power, money, drugs, alcohol, or chasing after some illusive dream may take up our time, or maybe we get bored and tired. What happens to spiritual growth then? A flat rock is involved and growth is flat-lined. Oh sure, people still believe, but there is no growth because it has not been a priority. Our relationship with Jesus Christ must always be at the forefront of who we are as Christians.

In school, concepts and practices build on one another to understand a subject. Test scores measure growth. To run a race, we know that training starts small and the body builds muscle little by little by discipline and hard work. Growth is measured in how far and fast the runner can go. How is spiritual growth measured? 1 Peter 122-2:3 gives us a formula by which we can grow spiritually. "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 'For all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

What do these verses tell us in plain language? First, we are to love one another. It’s not so simple. Jesus said we are to love and care for the hungry, the homeless, those who need clothes, the sick, and the prisoners. We must have a sincere and sacrificial love for others just as Jesus demonstrated. Peter then quotes Isaiah to remind us that everything we have, all our accomplishments are like the flowers in the field, here today and gone tomorrow but what remains is the Word of the Lord. Now that we have heard it, we know what we have to do, live our life so that Christ’s love is revealed through us. Peter goes on to write that babies need milk to grow. We should be craving spiritual milk by doing the things that help us mature spiritually like focusing on studying scripture. A mere verse every day or so is not going to mature us. To grow, we need to read chapters and pray for clarity. Use a study Bible, and talk with mature believers about the meaning of scripture. Pray daily with sincerity, listen, and watch for a response. Put your faith into action using your gifts and the desires God has put in your heart. Connect with others who believe and have the desire to be about God’s work.

It’s still January, a good time to measure our spiritual growth. It’s not something that can be measured by putting a pencil mark on the woodwork but it is a measurement of the size of our hearts.

Blessings,

Becky

Bridgewater UMC 

Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world!  

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Bridgewater, VA 22812

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