Let's Grow-8/10/2011

"Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection." Heb 6:1

Beloved, it is expected that when we first come to Christ, there are many things we will not know. We have need of being taught of his ways. This is why the pattern set forth by Christ in Matt 28:19-20 (the Great Commission) follows the model of teach, baptize and teach more. Our education in the Lord never ceases, however, our ungodly behaviors should.

I'm sure that many of our mothers have told us that "when you know better, do better." Having been introduced to the elementary principles of the faith, it is incumbent upon us to grow from them. As children who learn not to stick objects in electric sockets, run out into the street without looking both ways and not to touch a hot iron, there are things that we have been taught that should prevent us from doing the same things we once did.

Our charge is to reach for and attain higher learning. Once we have understood and performed according to our need to hear the word of God, believe those things that are contained therein, repent of past wrong doings, confessing Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior and submit to baptism for the remission of our sins, we must build on that foundation and learn and perform what the Lord says about even larger things.

It may not occur to us to love our enemies for example, but when we learn that before He saved us WE were His enemies, that should make us more compassionate toward others. It may not occur to us to help out a person in need, but when we learn that He supplies all of our needs, even though we have been strangers to Him, it should make us more giving. And whereas we may begin our lives of worship as pew sitters who remain silent as we are taking it all in, we must move to a life of service, using the gifts that God has given in order that others might be moved to worship and then to become servants.

In short, we are expected by God, even as we expect of our children, to grow. If our teenagers continued to need bottle feeding and diapers (barring any developmental issues of course), we would be more than alarmed. Then let us not continue to live in the basics of Christianity, but let us grow into maturity in the Lord.

Loving Like Jesus,

Lee