2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We all begin our Christian walk as newborn infants and the excitement and joy of new life is real. We come to God just as we are, but we are encouraged to grow in the Lord and to become more and more like Jesus. If we’re walking in the will of God our desire should be to grow in our faith and in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Regardless of the ever changing seasons around us and whatever season we personally find ourselves in, when we sow into that season we should grow in the Lord.
Maybe you’re at the beginning of your Christian journey and this is your desire. Or perhaps you’ve been a Christian for many years but find yourself in the same place with God.
How can we grow?
We grow by sowing to the spirit and not the flesh.
Galatians 6:8 tells us ‘For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the spirit, will from the spirit reap eternal life’.
What does it mean to sow or walk in the spirit and not in the flesh? The Bible tells us the works of the flesh are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. If we practice these things we won’t inherit the kingdom of God, and we certainly won’t grow.
We sow into the Spirit, and also the word of God. In doing so we should grow.
This isn’t always easy. Many of us at times can be like the seed that fell on stony places. We hear the word and immediately receive it with joy, yet we have no root and only endure for a little while. When tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, we stumble. Or maybe we’re like the seed that fell among the thorns. We hear the word, but the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and we become unfruitful.
Don’t be like the stony or thorny ground but rather be like the seed that fell on good ground. They hear the word and understand it, and bear fruit and produce, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. That’s growth.
Grow in the spirit and not the flesh and grow in the word. Even when things get tough. Galatians chapter 6:9, ‘And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart’.
Don’t lose heart. Keep going, the harvest is coming. Until then, keep knowing, keep sowing and keep growing in the Lord.