Don't Stop Growing

Sometimes I think that Christians arrive.  What I mean by this is that we get to a point in our development and we think we have got it down.  After all, we are going to church, we are giving, we are praying, we are teaching our kids, we are serving.  And so we think we are pretty great and we stop. 

I believe that this comes from an improper system of goals.  We set the goals for ourselves to be a little better than ourselves and a little better than our neighbors in the pew and we find ourselves having arrived at that spot and we are not really sure where to go from there.

The problem with this is that being a little better than our former selves or a little better than the guy next to us is not the goal.  "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;" (Ephesians 5:1, NASB).  We are to be like God and specifically like His Son Jesus Christ.  And this task is not concluded until we are changed by Him in glory.  So in the mean time, I am to never stop striving.  I should never stop growing.  I should never stop being remade in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If I make my goal to be like Christ than I have not only the proper goal in mind, but also a difficult one.  If I am to be like Christ, I must recognize my continual dependence upon the Spirit of God and the Word of God to accomplish the task.  It will also be a lifelong process, but I must never stop growing!