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Surviving or thriving?
Once in a while, an honest, introspecting Christian has to address this question in right
earnest “Am I merely surviving as a Child of God or thriving, as I ought to be”?
To arrive at the right answer, though it may not be far to seek, a sincere Christian
undergoing a reality check, needs to come to grips with yet another poser
“When the good Lord gave me a new life, when I was down in the spiritual
dumps, as it were, what was His plan for my life? For me to retain my old sinful characteristics’
or to develop a Christ-like character”?
The answer to this question is as simple as it is profound. If man originally created in
God’s perfect image
(Genesis 1:27), marred the same by his Fall, then beginning with
new birth experience, God wants him to re-develop that original flawless, pristine
Christ-like image once again in the core of his being.
What price, a clicked underdeveloped photographic image of a person? Will it serve any purpose,
unless it is fully developed? For the very purpose of having a full-fledged spiritual image,
apostle Peter pleads in his II Epistle, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your
faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness, love (II Peter 1:5-7). Then comes a loving admonition in verses 8 and 9 “ 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. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind,
and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”
A closer look at verses 8 and 9 would reveal that only those without a clear vision would settle for
mere salvation, instead of its full fruition. Just as a dwarfed, fruitless tree would be of no use to
the gardener, a perpetual spiritual infant would be a liability in our Heavenly Father’s scheme of things.
More than rushing to do the Master’s work, a Christian would do well first to develop a spiritual muscle
or two to do His work more effectively. This is not to suggest, a Christian immediately after his salvation
experience, should not always rush forward to preach or teach or to evangelize. Important as these functions
are, it is worthwhile to concentrate on the growth area first. For even plain logic suggests that the world
would respond more to a Christ-like teacher/preacher/evangelist than to any run of the mill Bible carrying
sycophant. Consider the example of the Disciples. They “grew” in their spiritual life, throughout their
association with their Master, so much so that when they proclaimed the Gospel standing up even to the
Jewish religious authorities of their times, the Bible states emphatically in
Acts 4:13 (LB) “they
(Jewish religious hierarchy) were amazed and realized what being with Jesus had done for them (the disciples)!”
Ditto this with apostle Paul, who soon after his dramatic ‘road to Damascus experience’
(Acts 9:1-6) went away to
Arabia (Galatians 1:17)
to learn first-hand at the feet of the Lord many profound lessons of the spiritual world.
This place better known as Nabatean Arabia as the Biblical scholars point out was a region that stretched East
from Damascus down to the Sinai Peninsula. It was the place of his preparation for Ministry, which is fruitful,
even now, because of its strong foundation! Oh, how wisdom oozes out of his epistles, even today giving many a
Christian, the much-needed guidance!
All this brings us to the question “How do I grow spiritually”? If determination to be wise were the first step
toward becoming wise
(Proverbs 4:7-LB), then it follows that being determined to become mature would be the
stepping-stone to grow spiritually. Then comes an all important crucial phase, when we need to submit ourselves
to the instructions of the indwelling Divine teacher …the Holy spirit
(Gal 5:16) in each and every area of our
life in the manner a young athlete aspiring to be a champion yields himself fully to the instructions of the coach.
I remember as a youth in mid 1980s’, how I had to even give-up viewing a stimulating Siddhartha Basu
(is there a better quiz master in India?) hosted quiz time, because it clashed with my Bible-reading time!
As one Biblical scholar put it so creatively “Holy Spirit does not come into a Christian’s life intending to
be a mere resident but to be a President”.
Time spent in prayer is the index of a man’s spirituality’. Under His Spirit’s prompting, a growing Christian should
naturally be drawn to prayer in a way a hungry man is drawn to food. Here again, the priority of a maturing
Christian ought to be the desire to commune with his Creator rather than furnish a lengthy wish list to the Latter
in the Prayer closet! Conversely, it follows that, if there is “no appetite” to commune in prayer, with the Creator,
then there is a serious spiritual health disorder, which needs to be taken care of immediately with a
high ‘dosage’ of repentance.
Concurrently in our ‘growth process’, we need to seek God’s word, like a baby cries for milk
(I Peter 2:3).
With time, we need to sample God’s word in its entirety…not only the comfortable portions like Psalms or
Proverbs but God’s word in Toto…cover to cover from Genesis to Revelation. If Psalms can be equated to easily
digestible milk, then the rest of the Bible can be compared to a nutritious solid food. Why should
we settle for an infant diet, when we have a rich banquet, laid before us? Doubts arising whilst studying any
portion of the scripture can be taken up and duly clarified with reliable servants of God like local pastors,
by referring Bible Concordances’ etc.
Seeking fellowship not only in Church circles but also even in secular places like a corporate office with
like-minded believers (if you are blessed with them in your office, then Praise God!), is yet another rung to
climb in the steady ascent towards full spiritual maturity. From personal experience, I can vouchsafe for the
fact that time spent in fellowship with Christian brethren
(Heb 10:25) not only on Sundays but also throughout
the week is worth its weight in gold!
In all this Divine moulding process, trust the good Lord to do His part by bringing in periodic challenges,
be it in the form of fiery trials or serious responsibilities to be undertaken in the spiritual realm like
in a Church or fellowship
(Romans 8:28-29). Here again, in these circumstances too, we need to submit to
the will of the Divine craftsman who does all these “to conform us unto His image”
(II Cor 3:18).
Then would arrive the time in His time table (not necessarily coinciding with the end of study term in a
Bible seminary…well… a Bible seminary can help but its role in the entire panorama of Christian growth
especially in relation to that of the Holy spirit is limited), when all our ‘Divine inputs poured into
the water jars of our spirit” be it in the form of prayer time spent in His presence, study of His Word
and other related devotionals, fellowshipping with other brethren, etc after ‘Divine fermentation’
would be ready for serving to the world
(John 2:8). If the World found the fully “ripe” apostles irresistible
(Acts 4:13/
Acts 17:6), would the results be any different today? Is not Master, who made us
also “grow in His vineyard” the same, yesterday, today and forever
(Heb 13:8)? Trust me dear friends,
the preaching, teaching or evangelistic efforts of a mature Christian would carry that much more of a punch,
which would be at once ‘distinctive’!
One final word about Growth. If the room for improvement is the biggest room in this world, then room for
growth is its Siamese twin. There can be absolutely no room for complacency in this critical sphere of
Christian life. Let apostle Paul, who knows a thing or three about Growth
(Eph 4:13) have the last word on
this paramount subject “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that
I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first
possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing:
Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and
receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
(Philippians 3:12-14 NLT)
What an exemplary man and what an exemplary pursuit!!! Time we echo similar sentiments about our own Growth?
(Suresh Manoharan)
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