Where We Started

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.  Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.  1 Corinthians 13:11-12

One of things I marvel at is how much you grow when you are under duress or being challenged.  There was a time like that at work where things did not start off so well in this period of transition.  Things that I normally did well were not done well, and where I believed I was good suddenly became areas where I began to question.  Months later, I paused and reflected to see where I was. There were a number of questions I had. Did I do as well as I felt I should? No.  Were we on schedule to make it to the ultimate goal?  Yes.  Did I learn something from it?  Definitely. It all boiled down to a very simple phrase; I’m not where I want to be, but I’m a lot closer to it now then from where I started.

Spiritual growth is an essential process from which we come to know and love God better.  In reading 1 Corinthians 13, my thought was these verses felt out of place considering that this is known as the ‘Love’ chapter (Love is patient, love is kind . . . ).  However after reading it more, it was a good place to remind us of the importance of continually seeking to learn of and grow in God.  Love is of course the most important part of the relationship (Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13), but how does love grow?  If it does not grow, it becomes stagnant and eventually will start to fade.  These verses are thus prescriptive for how a healthy relationship with God works.  While our dependency of God is to be childlike (see Matthew 18:3-4), our relationship with God is to be where we dive into its complexity (puzzling reflections in a mirror) and pause to reflect both where we are and where we must go (all I know now is partial and incomplete).  Call love and spiritual growth the yin and yang.  Both are necessary for us to feel whole with Him.

Loving God requires all of our entire being.  Jesus said we must love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, and soul.  To capably do so, we must continue to push ourselves to learn of God and seek Him through His word.  One of my favorite R&B songs talks about maturity this way:

So we search for answers to our questions

Looking for a(n) answer

No answers but we're taught a lesson every time

Through mistakes we've learned to gather wisdom

Life's responsibility falls in our hands

                                                  - 'Boys to Men' – New Edition

 

Seeking God in all things and learning both through successes and failures give us the necessary growth for us to become better lovers of God and others.  What obstacles are inhibiting your spiritual growth?  What is you plan to have a continually growing and healthy relationship with God?  My prayer is that we understand our spiritual growth is not where we want it to be but we are closer than where we started.  Amen.