When was the last time you set out a plan to grow as a Christian? When I speak of “growing” I’m talking about improving myself in some way. Most of us have all sorts of desires in our hearts. Some of them are godly aspirations to grow in our faith, but how do we do it? Perhaps our spiritual stagnation stems from regularly aiming at nothing and then being surprised when we find out we are expert marksmen. As annoying as it sounds, the old adage remains true: A failure to plan is a plan to fail.
Perhaps the best path forward is to ask a more basic question, If you woke up tomorrow just a little bit more successful as a Christian, what would that look like?
Would you wake up knowing more of the Bible? Would you have committed yourself to finally starting that one book by C. S. Lewis or John Bunyan or even St. Augustine’s Confessions? Would it be that you committed a new Bible verse to memory, specifically, that one to comfort you when life feels overwhelming? This mini-questionnaire points to some very specific and even observable ways for us to measure growth. But what happens if the place that needs the most growth in our lives is practically immeasurable? What do we do with our souls that need such work?
Such a claim does stand against the materialism of the age, which is of course, a good thing. We are more than blood, muscle, and sinew. We are more than bodies filling up clothes, and are more than objects which cast shadows. We are embodied souls who are designed to enter into everlasting glory. Perhaps our spiritual aimlessness has stemmed from our forgetfulness. We have forgotten what we are as much as we’ve forgotten whose we are. As Christians, we are sons and daughters of the Most High God. That means, we are sons and daughters of the King. As such, we are always members of the high heavenly royal family.
Well, what happened? How did we get lost? How did things get so mixed up? We’ve been too busy. Too busy with work and games. We’ve been too busy just trying to make it through another day. We’re just trying to find out how we are going to pay that next bill or survive the next family outing. We’ve stopped living and have shifted downwards towards mere existing. But you and I were made for more than that. Our lives, our God-given value and dignity destines us for more. However, like any good ship, if we fail to tend to it, it can only sail on for so long. We need repair. We need renewing. We need work. We need steering. We need help. Our self-reliance is not an evidence of strength, but one of pride that pretends that the heaviness of this life was meant for our shoulders alone. It’s no wonder when we do this, we find ourselves crushed, exhausted, and anxious. Augustine reminds us that our great weaknesses occur because we relied on ourselves when we should have relied on God. (Confessions, VI. vii (13)
So where in your heart do you need to rely on God? Where do you most need Him to work in your life? Maybe today’s success looks like spending just one literal minute every morning and evening pausing to thank God for another day. Maybe that invisible point of success looks a bit more practical like choosing to clean the bathroom mirror promptly and without complaint. Maybe it looks like complimenting someone who does their job well. Maybe it looks like forgiving people who have wronged you because God forgave you in Christ. These little glimmers into our hearts are like rays of light that crackle outwards like lightning into our dark world. But instead of destruction, when the light strikes it brings warmth and healing.
I want to grow as a Christian. I want to be more like Jesus and sound more like Him. I know already that I have much room to grow. But like any houseplant, we do not get angry when the tiny green life only grows a little. We celebrate the evidences of life however small they might be. Why is that the case? For in so doing, we are reminded of that basic principle that living things grow.
So we return to the start: What would it look like for you to grow today? What would it look like to take just one step towards God? or two? or twenty? If you call Christ Lord and Savior, you must continue to strive on the narrow path towards Him. Maybe you’ve stepped off for a season; even pitching a tent where you came off the road. He still bids you come. Maybe someone thrust you off the path and you’ve been lying there for some time. Christ still bids you to rise, take up your mat and follow Him. That call comes out universally today. The invitation is always available, but our time is not.