Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.

Hebrews 6:1

One of my favorite things to do is watch my two kids compete in the sports they love. Over the years, I have watched MANY seasons of various sports. I very rarely missed a game or meet of any kind. Of course, I’m their biggest fan!

I remember the first couple of years my son played baseball. After a few seasons I was amazed at the difference even a year could make. Little League Baseball was fun to watch whether my son was running the bases or digging in the dirt. The first year he played he did a lot of looking around and playing in the dirt. The following year he was more focused, and he was more interested in playing the game . . . and playing well. He had also grown in stature. He looked older out there, and his mannerisms, such as running, looked more like a strong young man. He had grown in so many ways!

What about you? When you compare yourself this year to the “you” of last year, have you grown? I don’t mean physically, though that sometimes happens! I mean in your walk with Christ. Are you any different? Are there signs of growth? What shines through you?

When our children don’t grow physically as we expect, we know something is wrong. It is not okay for a child to just stop growing. If we did not see noticeable physical changes from one year to the next in our children, we would take the next steps medically to do what we could to address the problem.

In the last few verses of chapter 5 in Hebrews, the author of Hebrews is telling the Jewish Christians that they had not matured, and the author clearly thought that this was wrong. He had seen no growth in them, no fruit in their lives. The truth of the matter is that when we don’t grow in our spiritual walk with Christ, we are actually moving backwards. You don’t just stay where you are!

What are the signs of your spiritual growth this year? Do you show joy or patience? How about self-control? Check Galatians 5:22 for the rest. Let’s consider that our fruit can be those who we are encouraging, mentoring, or discipling. How are you helping others? Let’s be new and different this year. Let’s allow the Lord to move us and change us.

Let’s GROW!

Julie Smith