Life and Growth: Spiritual Application of a Fundamental Principle

As we continue to march through the days of June and prepare for summer, I look outside and am astounded by the abundance of greenery and beauty that accompanies spring and early summer.  The songbirds have returned from their winter migration and fill the skies with their graceful aerial acrobatics and complex melodies.  The deer and other wildlife have little ones by their sides, and the trees are budding forth with new leaves.  All these speak loudly to me of one thing:  LIFE.   

​It was spoken into existence by God as He created the heavens and the earth.  It was breathed into the nostrils of man after he was handcrafted in the image of God.  It is what sets the earth apart from all other planets.  While its resilience often astounds medical professionals, it is also easily destroyed by the slightest chemical, climatic, and biological imbalance.  
 
A main definition of life is that it brings growth.  The earth teems with new, living, and growing things.   Grass grows taller, flowers open their lovely petals to the sun, small seeds turn into giant trees, the tiny owlet becomes the stealthy hunter of the night, and the precious toddler morphs into a sophisticated adult.  Life and growth happen all around us, each and every day.  It is something we’ve become so accustomed to that we pay it no heed.
 
The Bible tells us that those who have believed in the name of Jesus Christ, confessed their sin, and acknowledged Him as Lord have eternal life.  Though it is not life in the organic, physical sense, this eternal, spiritual life shares a common characteristic nature:  they both cause growth.  In the physical world, you cannot have one without the other.  If something is alive, it will grow.  If something doesn’t grow, it’s not alive.
 
Likewise, our spiritual life must be characterized by growth.  Growth in knowledge of God, understanding of His Word, spiritual maturity, obedience to God’s voice, love for God and fellow man, mercy and compassion.  These are all signs of spiritual life, of growth.  You cannot claim eternal life and not have the evidence of growth.  You cannot have spiritual growth unless you are eternally alive. 
 
Life and growth are inseparable and wholly dependant on each other, both in the physical and spiritual realm.
 
So, are you growing?  Are you becoming more like Christ each passing day?  Is there evidence of spiritual life?

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
​To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.  Amen.”
~II Peter 3:18