As time draws closer to the biblical prophecy that declares the collapse of the kingdoms and empires of men, and the rise of God’s kingdom rule in the age to come, we are here to help prepare for the latter. As we addressed last week, this preparation begins with His kingdom growing within us. One aspect of this preparation is to grow in the faith and knowledge of Who is really in authority. The most important question to ask is this: is His authority growing in us?
Having God’s authority grow in our lives is a part of basic Christian maturity. Ephesians 4:13 declares we should do this “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Where is this happening? Are there any people on earth right now who have attained to the “mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ”? This should be a primary goal for every believer.
I know of nowhere this has been attained, and only a few churches of which this is even a goal. Still, many are growing in this. However, questions remain: Are we among them? Are we getting closer to Him daily? Can we look back on this week and see progress? We may not know many Christians who evaluate their spiritual lives this way, yet we are exhorted in II Corinthians 13:5: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test.”
Being self-focused is not how we mature in Christ. We seek Him to be changed by His glory. However, one level of self-evaluation we must know is where we are on our journey and where we must go next. For this, we must know what the Lord is working on in our lives to measure our progress.
For example, we are all called to grow in God’s love. First, we need to grow in our love for God, then if we keep Him as our first love, we will grow in our love for one another. Since we are exhorted in Scripture to “cultivate” faith and faithfulness (see Psalm 37:3), we need to prepare the ground for the seeds God is sowing in us, then keep the field of our heart watered with His truth. Next, we need to keep it weeded from the cares and worries of this world. Finally, we must guard it from the predators that steal the seed and fruit. All this requires intentional devotion.
When the Lord started working on my impatience, I resolved to recognize every delay and interruption as an opportunity to grow in patience by thanking Him for each one. It took time, but I noticed many of the interruptions and delays that used to irritate me no longer did. The stroke not only made even the simplest things much more difficult, but it also made them take far more time. As I embraced this, I felt more peace in my life.
Best of all, I began recognizing the hand and voice of the Lord far more than before. This made the quality and joy of my life increase beyond anything I previously experienced, though I had already considered myself among the most blessed people ever. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, because it takes faith and patience to inherit the promises (see Hebrews 6:12). Embrace the discipline of growing in patience, and you will experience it.
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