Let Us Grow Together

1 Peter 2:1-2
2 Peter 3:18
 
When I think about growing or increasing, I think about the many things that athletes do to grow, to increase their muscles and grow their physique.  Athletes will tell you if I do the right things, I’ll grow.  Some athletes do all kinds of things to grow; they use vitamins, enhancements, growth hormones, steroids and all kinds of stuff to get bigger.  When I did body building years ago I would work out, take vitamins, take supplements and go to the gym.  I’d train 2 – 2 ½ hours a day, 4 or 5 days a week and a lot of other stuff so my muscles would grow.  And you all are familiar with “Miracle Grow”; you get Miracle Grow plant food to get your vegetables, flowers, and other things to grow.  
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What about Christian growth? How do we grow, as Christians?  It’s not like an athlete; we don’t have to worry about going to the gym or running track or doing so many laps.  We don’t have to be concerned about physical diets to grow.  How do we grow? As Christians, we grow my friends by reading the bible. 
We grow by reading and studying the word of God the same way we fertilize and exercise and supplement in order to grow.

Certain things have to be done if we want to grow.  As Peter says in 1 Peter 2:1-2: Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,..”.  There are some things we’ve got to lay aside.  Somebody might say I need to cut back on this or I’ve got to cut back on that in order to get in shape.  There are things we as Christians have to put down, and things we have to pick up so that we can grow in God.

In Verse 2 of that passage Peter tells us we must be “as newborn babies desiring the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow…” He tells us first to lay aside some things.  Next he says we need to be like newborn babies.  We’ve all been around little babies.  Little babies will be hollering and crying - they want to be fed, they want some milk!  When you continue to feed that baby - to give him milk, breast milk, formula or whatever - that baby is going to grow. Here Peter is telling us that we must desire the sincere milk of the word the way newborn babies crave milk, so that we can grow. As I said, we grow by reading and studying the word of God. 

We’ve got to know the word. Just like you ladies and you guys deal with the various plants and tools and equipment and things, you know them.  You learn how to use these things and sometimes we get to the point where we can just about perfect how we handle them.  In the same way we need to increase in wisdom and perfect our knowledge of the word of God.  We don’t need to be babes the rest of our lives. As we travel on this journey we need to mature. We need to get to the point where we can help somebody else.

When I get to heaven I don’t want the Lord to ask me: Where is your fruit? I want to be able to look around and see some brothers or sisters that I’ve encouraged in the faith; somebody that I’ve told about the Lord.  I don’t want to go to heaven by myself, I want to take somebody with me.   I want all of ya’ll to be there too!

Let us grow together.

Prayer: Father I thank you for these brothers and these sisters.
We ask your blessing upon them.  Bless us God.  Give us a desire, a thirst, and a hunger to study your word, God, because we want more knowledge.  We want to grow and we want to know more about you. We want to be able to share your word to encourage others in the faith.  We thank you God for your Word. Amen.
~J. T.