growing up

Our little boy is growing up! I know…that sounds just like something our parents said when we were young, right? I think it must be a universal thing. We all know it’s going to happen, but it’s still hard to watch sometimes. As a dad, I love my little guy so much! In the long run, though, all parents want to see their children grow and mature into responsible, strong, healthy men and women. That’s the goal, isn’t it? That’s the whole point of parenthood!

When Josiah was a baby, we treasured all the firsts: first smile, first tooth, first time rolling over, first step and, yes, even first black eye. We were so proud to see him conquer things that, just a few months or even weeks earlier, were unattainable. Now that he’s a “big boy” (Just ask him—he’ll tell you!) we’re celebrating things like riding a bike, climbing a ladder and, in a few months, preschool. It’s strange to think about, but it won’t be long before we’re overcoming things like girlfriends, a driver’s license and college tuition. None of these achievements—past, present or future—come easily. They all require work, effort, risk, patience, etc. But they do come in time if we set our minds to them.

Why would we think it’s any different spiritually? When we first come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are spiritual infants. The Bible even says an immature believer needs spiritual milk (see 1 Cor. 3 and Hebrews 5-6). Our spiritual family celebrates all our firsts with us: first prayer, first Bible, first witnessing opportunity and, yes, even first spiritual black eye (I’ve had quite a few struggles and/or wrestling matches with God. You?) Those things are exciting, wonderful, glorious…but we can never stay there. We can’t just stop in our spiritual toddler or preschool years, content with who we are and what we’ve done. By all means, let’s keep growing up! Let’s keep maturing, transforming, moving forward!

Yes, it’s going to take a great deal of work, effort, risk, patience, etc. You know good and well that nothing worthwhile comes easily. We teach that to our children, but forget it for ourselves in our own journey with God. We would be so angry at our child who refuses to clean his/her room, but we ignore our own spiritual messes. We would be devastated to know that our beloved son/daughter blatantly ignored our warnings and disobeyed our instructions, yet we do it to God on a regular basis.

One more observation/warning: this isn’t a race. Most first-time parents, including Carla and I, get caught up in the comparison game. “Is our child developing like your child?” “At what age did he/she start talking?” Eventually, we learned to just stop worrying about Josiah and let him grow at his own pace. You might achieve some spiritual landmarks before me. Good for you! I’m probably going to conquer some issues before you. Be happy for me! God will move us all along at our own pace because, as our wonderful heavenly Father, He knows best. But we must move along. We must continue. We must grow.

Where do you see yourself spiritually? Are you still an infant? Perhaps you’re a toddler now. Maybe you’ve been in church your whole life and, yet, you know that you’re still only in Junior High. Wherever you are, keep going. At whatever stage, celebrate your firsts, but then move on. Never stop growing up! Always push yourself to more and better; higher, deeper and wider! Keep following the Father! It’s a phenomenal adventure!