Growth

Training Days

One day I’d like to run a marathon.

The problem is that means I would have to train to run a marathon. For most people, it’s the thought of all that running that would bother them, but for me, that’s not it. I like running (hence the desire to complete a marathon). It’s just that as of yet, other things take precedence over training. I’d rather be hanging out with my family, meeting with girls in my church’s college ministry, or writing blog posts. To say “I don’t have the time” would be inaccurate – there are just other uses of my time that I consider more important.

However, as a Christian, I know that I must always be training. For example, I must be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within me (1 Peter 3:15 ). I have to work to present myself in a manner that would please God (2 Timothy 2:15)- not in order to be saved, but because He has saved me. These things don’t happen overnight, just like the ability to run a marathon doesn’t. They require work, diligence and preparation.

In Matthew 10:16 we learned why this training is so important. Scripture states:

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Christ knows that our walk with Him on this Earth will be filled with challenges, and He wants us to be prepared to deal with them.

Additionally, our Savior tells us what this training should entail.

First, we should be girded with wisdom – studying and learning so that we are mentally equipped to teach others about Christ (and answer their questions, provide reproof to other followers when needed, and to encourage one another with Truth.) But in doing so, we should be marked with gentleness and love. Our character and our mental acuity should point others to Christ. Just like it may be tempting for a marathoner to focus on endurance over speed, so in the Christian life it is tempting to focus on one aspect of our training over another. But Christ tells us that we must work on knowing Him and on loving others in order to be prepared.

Just like it would be foolish to think I could get up and run a marathon tomorrow, it would be foolish for the Christian to think that diligent training is unnecessary. Without it, we would not able to accurately represent Christ with our words, and most people recognize that. But we must not think that our words are all that matter – how we present Truth to others should represent Christ as well. And we must train on both fronts. So that in loving others, and in presenting Christ, we can run this race in a manner that pleases our Lord.

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Growth

Room To Grow

I like to garden.

My garden is nothing fancy;  after all, I live in a condo surrounded by concrete in Southern California – an environment not exactly known for generous plots of land. Plus, I have dogs, so the limited amount of soil I do have doesn’t have a lot of chances of having plants that will last. Yet despite my limitations, I amuse myself with flower pots and planters, trying to make the concrete a little bit more colorful.

However, because I’m an amateur gardener, I’m not the best at estimating what I’ll need when I go shopping for foliage.  I’ll think I have too few things to fill the space, and I’ll come back with too many. Then, I have to try to figure out what to do with the extra. This familiar scene occurred a year or so ago when I got back from my favorite local gardening store with two identical plants, but only had room to plant one.

I thought of this recently because I’ve been learning a bit about horticulture at the college ministry where I serve. Jesus used plants as an illustration to represent His people’s relationship with Him. As we remain in Him, we grow, just as a branch must remain in the vine in order for it to strengthen and bear fruit. This symbolic representation helps us understand what someone must do once they’ve been saved. They must remain with Christ.

However, looking at the plants I overbought, I realized something else about our growth. You see, when I bought my extra plant, I didn’t have a pot to put it in right away. It stayed in the container that the store put it in. Its identical twin, however, got placed in a large tomato plant pot, and begin to take root. It quickly took off, growing several times bigger than the plant that stayed in the smaller, yet manageable container. Both were growing, but one exceeded the growth of the other because it was given room to do so. One was constricted by its surroundings, the other flourished.

Sometimes, our surroundings constrict our growth too. We stay with what’s safe, what’s comfortable and what’s familiar, even when God is calling us to something else. It may even look like we are doing good things; after all, the container that the store placed the plant in wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t right for its future. The plant was content there, but it could only grow so much. It was healthy, but static, unable to reach further heights.

We too, may be tempted to stay with what we know rather than risk what may happened when we are transplanted to another environment. We may look “healthy” to other Christians, but we’re static – not being stretched and strengthened by God.  God may want to use that new place to provide us room to grow.  It may be that only in changing our environment, that He can bring forth a greater harvest of fruit.

Yet change is not easy. So we stay with what we know. Even when God wants to give us room to grow.

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