On Growing Up - Martin Wiles

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Hebrews 5:12 NLT

“Hey Pop, I can reach the light switch.”

Having kept our two oldest grandchildren since they were babies, my wife and I have watched them grow through many life stages. When the oldest reached the stage where he could go to the potty by himself and feed himself, life got easier for us. But no sooner had we gotten him to this point than his brother came along, and we had to start all over again.

Our middle grandson learned to feed himself with no problem, but when it came to potty training, he wasn’t interested. We finally gave up, taking the advice someone gave: “When he’s ready, he’ll go.” 

And he did. Since he was short, we had to go with him and let him stand on our feet. Then, he grew an inch or so and didn’t need our help with that part of the bathroom visit, but he still couldn’t reach the light switch.

As I sat in my recliner one day, I heard him say he had to go to the potty. “Go ahead,” my wife said. I asked about the light switch. That’s when he proudly told me he could reach it himself.

We know as they grow, they will need us less, which is a mixed blessing. Relief that we don’t have to do everything for them. Sadness that they’re growing up. 

Growing up is easy and tough. I don’t have a choice with physical growth. It just happens. But the social and emotional things that accompany the physical things aren’t so easy. The writer of Hebrews scolds these early believers because they weren’t growing … spiritually. They should have known the Bible well enough to teach it to others, but they didn’t.

My body can’t help but grow physically. God made it that way. Even children whose mental or physical growth is stunted for various reasons still grow in various ways. But I won’t just grow spiritually unless I try.

Just attending church, simply reading the Bible, or quickly spouting off a few memorized prayers aren’t enough. We must go for the right reasons, read with focus and the intention of applying, and pray as if our lives depend upon it. And if we want to grow spiritually and enjoy God’s best for us, they do.

Don’t be satisfied with just getting by in your walk with the Lord. Adopt an attitude that will lead to your spiritual growth.

Prayer: Father in heaven, give us the desire to grow spiritually so that we might know life as You designed it to be.

Tweetable: How are you growing? 

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