Last month, we explored the foundation of the normal Christian life. This foundation consists of four cornerstones that every Christian should build their relationship with God upon. They are:
1. **Connect**: This involves connecting with God first through one’s salvation and then through dedicated time set aside for God each day. Connecting also includes building relationships with others. This can take the form of attending church weekly, participating in a Sunday morning class, joining a small group, or engaging in some other biblically-based ministry.
2. **Grow**: This is the cornerstone we will focus on this month.
3. **Serve**: Serving God by serving others encompasses the ways we demonstrate God’s love through practical and meaningful acts of service.
4. **Go**: This involves being an intentional disciple who seeks to make more disciples. It means being a messenger and ambassador for God, pointing people to Jesus through our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions.
Now, let’s examine the second cornerstone of the normal Christian life: **Grow**. Growth flows from and builds upon the first cornerstone, Connect. As God commands in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive His approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” To be an effective witness for Christ, we must know what we believe and why. To serve God fruitfully, we need to be able to articulate our beliefs and handle God’s Word, the Bible, correctly. Effectively explaining something requires a deeper understanding of it, which necessitates growing in knowledge and comprehension.
Hosea 4:6 states, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being a priest to Me.” This verse underscores the consequences of neglecting knowledge. 2 Peter 3:18 reinforces this truth: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” We are called to actively pursue growth in our knowledge, understanding, and obedience to God. Proverbs 18:15 promises, “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.”
The apostle Paul frequently prayed for the churches established through his ministry to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding so they could deepen their relationship with God. Consider what he expresses in Ephesians 1:15-20:
“Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe in Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”
Do you recognize the importance of deepening your knowledge and understanding of God? Many Christians connect with God through salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They may attend church services and participate in Sunday morning Bible classes or small groups, but often, that’s where their involvement ends. They miss the opportunity to dig deeper and develop a stronger relationship with God through personal Bible study and prayer. Instead of engaging in this work themselves, they prefer to rely on others to tell them what to believe. By choosing not to dedicate themselves to the challenging journey of growing in their understanding of God, they content themselves with a superficial connection. In doing so, they overlook the many joys and benefits that come from genuinely investing in a relationship with God—loving Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. As a result, they remain immature and stunted in their faith, limiting their potential usefulness to God.
This realization is disheartening, and I know it well because I was once in that position for much of my own walk with God. I settled for immaturity and weakness in my faith simply because the work required to grow felt inconvenient and difficult. I sought the easy path and, as a consequence, missed many of the blessings that God wanted to offer me, if only I had made the effort.
The first step in being a Christian is to connect with God and receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. However, that salvation marks just the beginning of our journey with God; it’s merely the first rung on the ladder that leads us closer to Him.
To experience God fully and to be transformed and used by Him, we must build upon this foundation by choosing to “Grow.” As we grow, we come to understand our God-given purpose in this life. We experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in increasing measure.
Growth comes not from reading the Bible superficially, but from studying, meditating on, memorizing, and obeying it. We grow by dedicating prolonged time to God through fasting and prayer, sharing our hearts with Him, and seeking His heart and will. This includes confessing our sins and praying for others, even our enemies, as well as praying for His church, His work at Parkside and its many ministries, and His work within the global church.
Do not settle for half measures or superficial understanding. Avoid being satisfied with remaining on the first rung of your faith’s ladder. There is immense reward in going deeper and choosing to grow. So, connect with God, and then commit to growing.
