Years ago, I
remember getting on the bandwagon when people were talking about the Israelites
in the wilderness and the fact that they missed out on God’s plan for them. If
I was writing down all the derogatives comments made about the Israelites for
having God right there with them yet they failed, I would have enough material
to create a book by now. As I grow spiritually, I realized how juveniles those
comments were. We can afford to make such comments because we truly do not know
God the way we think we do. If we did, we would learn through God that there is
no difference between us and the Israelites when it comes to serving and loving
Him.
As the matter of fact, we do not only have Christ in front of us as a
cloud and our high priest, we also have Him inside of us, so in a way, we are
worse than the Israelites. We are stubborn people, we enjoy living a double
life, hence why we do not want anything to do with a life of abandonment at His
feet. We follow after anyone willing to dilute the gospel to make things easier
for us. We are great at giving Him lip service. Not interested in anyone’s
report that does not match what we want to hear. We have hard hearts, idols
coming out of our ears, and we are fascinated by what the world has to offer,
and the list goes on.
The key thing here
is “spiritual growth.” Spiritual growth isn’t about how active you are for God,
or about accumulating knowledge. While these things make us feel good, and even
the Church tends to evaluate most of their staff and what they label mature
Christians, by accumulated knowledge. But, that’s not what God’s word value,
for spiritual growth. Rather, it’s a process by which we are slowly becoming
more and more like Christ while taking on His characters.
As we grow
spiritually, God keeps pushing the veil back for us which takes away the
limitations God put on us after we died spiritually when Adam and Eve sinned. Only
as we let Him remove the veil in increment that we understand how much we human
beings have a limited understanding of the depth of spiritual growth. Imagine with me that God is
working in each one of us to make us like Christ. Now, picture Christ’s
character and everything He was when He walked the earth, then picture yourself
and tell me in comparison to Christ you do not see almost an impossible
challenge. If you can see the difference between the two, you will be able to
accept the fact that there is so much work to be done that it is almost
discouraging. Yet, the task is not impossible to God, all He asks is that we make
every effort to keep up with Him so that He can prepare us for the future life.
Christ first Sermon
was the Sermon on the Mount and should be a very good starting point for us. In
reality this sermon signifies the starting point of our spiritual life. I was
made to understand that I did not have to worry about the Sermon on the Mount
and that God would work it out in me even after I die. As I walk closer with
Christ, I found out this is something He needs to work in me and you now, and
it is just the beginning of a life in spiritual adulthood as we leave behind the
child life stage. As the Holy Spirit enlightened me to see the starting point
with Him, it made me sad to see how today Church is trapped in a perpetual infancy
stage – like the Pharisees.
Sure there is an
ultimate end to our spiritual growth when we will see Him face to face just
like He is. But like the Spirit taught me, there is nothing that limits Him
from working most of it in us right here right now, except us getting in His
way.
2 Peter 1:3-8
New International
Version (NIV)
Confirming One’s
Calling and Election
3 His divine
power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our
knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious
promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this
very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness,
knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to
self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance,
godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual
affection, love.8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure,
they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I worry when I hear people say: “may be it is His plan for you and not
for me” to grow so much in Him. This excuse has become so universal that I can
only see Satan in the midst of it all. How then can we read the Bible, even
reading verses like 2 Peter 1:3-8, then still not moving forward like we are
participating in a course for our lives? If we truly get the gist of the Bible,
how then can we explain that most of us are not making the commitment to follow
hard after Him? Something is amiss.
We are so blinded
that we lie to ourselves, yet we walk around as if God cannot see our excuses
and the lies we tell ourselves to avoid a real commitment to Him. You are also kidding
yourself if you think you can get there without making a painful mental effort
to commit wholeheartedly to this walk. This is not a commitment to do more, but
a commitment from the heart that says I want to stop playing with Christianity
and learn to see things from His standpoint. I want to get to know Him
intimately and I need to make things right with Him.
Think of it this
way and test yourself. If you cannot find it in you after you claim to be
Christian for decades, to commit wholeheartedly to Him, how do you expect your
work to pass the test of the fire? Because not being able to take that mental
step to abandon yourself to Him, should be your answer.
Take the step to let the
Spirit moves freely in your life!
