Growing in the Christian Experience

Last week we took the girls for their yearly check-up. As usual they checked their height and weight.  They made sure that each limb flexed properly and they checked the spine.  If they were due, they would have offered to provide the girls with vaccinations to ward off some terrifying disease.

After they got all of the proper numbers from the exam they enter it into a computer and BAM! There is a chart that shows the growth curve.  For the girls it shows the time since birth.  Thankfully the girls are growing as they should be and are hitting all the benchmarks expected for their age.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could see growth this easily with our spiritual life?  A chart that tells us if we are doing it the right way?

What if I told you THERE WAS!!!!

Well not in a literal senses of a chart, but there is a way to see if we are growing and not living a stagnant life or indulging in a lukewarm faith.  And we should use it to make sure that we are checking in on the state of our soul. Just as it is our responsibility to make sure our kids are healthy, it is also our responsibility to make sure that our faith is healthy.   

Currently, I am working through The Wiersbe Bible Study series.  My current journey focuses on 2 Peter, 3 John, and Jude.  Wiersbe asks within this study, if we are Growing in Christian Experience.

He makes a point that:

“Where there is life, there must be growth.  The new birth is not the end, it is the beginning.”                   –Be Alert Pg. 23

So, how do we know if we are indeed growing in faith? 

2 Peter gives our Growing in Faith chart!!!! 

“Supplement your FAITH with VIRTUE, virtue with KNOWLEDGE, knowledge with SELF-CONTROL, self -control with STEADFASTNESS, steadfastness with GODLINESS, godliness with BROTHERLY AFFECTION, brotherly affection with LOVE!” 2 Peter 1:5-7

Now, I did call this a chart, not a list.  Why?  Just as the doctor has charts that show us the progression of our kids growth this will show us the progression of our faith. 

You supplement your faith with virtue, which is your behavior that shows your morality.

As you are working on your behavior you should become more knowledgeable, or spiritually aware.  This is achieved by the reading of scripture, prayer, worship and living in community with believers.

Once you know what to do and actually do it, you will then obtain self-control because you will find it easier to say no to things that are not good for your soul. 

From there you are then achieving steadfastness and you become more reliable and unwavering in your faith. 

Then you move into godliness, which means that you are truly devout.

 

From there you produce brotherly affection.  This is different than simply doing the right thing.  It is more than that.  Brotherly affection is doing something for someone else for no other reason than it is for God and of God.  It goes beyond the “Love Thy Neighbor” or “Do No Harm” mentality.  It is being there for others on behalf of God and not of self. 

And then we are left with the final piece, Love.  This is NOT love in the romantic sense.  It is not the drunken, “I Love You Man” or a love that can be expressed by the Facebook Love button or an emoji.  This Love is known as “Agape.”

Agape is by definition the purest form of Love itself.  This is a love that is from and for God.  It should be considered a verb.  It is an action word.  This is where our works should derive from, the fruit of lives growing in Christian Experience.

Peter goes on to say in verses 8-10

“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For whoever lacks these qualities is so near sighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

Peter reminds us that we have to continue to genuinely grow in our Christian Experience.  If we fail to grow then we are useless and blind.  We are blind to the gift of salvation we received and we are blind to the needs in the world around us.

He then reminds us that we have to be diligent in our roles as disciples.  It should be well noted here that calling and election is not a term exclusively for the priest or missionary, this is a term used to describe ALL disciples.  And if you said yes to Jesus then you should be reminded by this that YOU ARE CALLED and YOU ARE A DISCIPLE and expected to actually do the work required of a disciple.

As I end this, I would like to challenge you with a bit of homework.  If you are a Methodist, you will be familiar with that question, “How is it with your soul?”  This falls along the lines of that and the passage above from 2 Peter.

Take some time over the next week and at the end of each day ask yourself the following questions, if you find that this helps you then please consider continuing the exercise. 

Did my behavior reflect my faith?  If no, did I repent and seek to reconcile the situation and ask for forgiveness?

Did I seek to expand my relationship with God today though an act of prayer, worship or reading scripture?

Did I say no to something today that was standing in the way of my relationship with God?  If not, why?  

Blessings!