“The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.”
I have been somewhat obsessed with the idea of growth for a season.
I find myself asking in multiple facets of my life “how can this be better next time?” How can I develop a metric for change? From test scores, to casual conversations, to spiritual formation.
I have caught myself, not in the moment but near after it, processing personal learning and reflection. Soaking up all I can to possess wider spaces and progress along the narrow path.
And it’s addicting.
Growth. Reflection. Learning. Change. Not just the subject but the process has permeated my being.
So it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I pitched the question to a few trusted buddies of mine to inquire if this was a healthy enthusiasm. We came to a few conclusions:
From 1 Cor 3:6-9:
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
My friend saw that this verse bears weight because “It not only gives God the credit for the growth, but it gives the responsibility for the growth to God. Key word: responsibility.”
I am a steward of the soul entrusted to me to be cultivated. I must be diligent to put myself under the correct conditions of sun light to abide in and behold Christ, till and aerate the soil to be humble and teachable, provide nourishment through the water of the word, but it is divine responsibility of the Grower to produce in me.
Perhaps that is why they are called the Fruits of the Spirit?
Growth is no passive process, but the production comes from God.
The only problem with forward striving is that it is still striving. Even in healthy growth, there is the temptation to emphasize the product over the person, the work over the relationship. Even in a season of immense growth, I can get caught up resting in the laurels of spiritual productivity while forsaking the gentle hand of the Gardener.
Jesus,
Even in the pursuit of cultivation, may I not neglect to simply be still with You. Even to productivity, may our relationship come foremost.
– C
Sixty-six books in a year 