When This is Not Happening, Something’s Wrong

1 Peter 1:22-2:3:, NIV –  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  For,

“All people are like grass,

    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

     but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

One of my favorite experiences is seeing babies and/or small children after not having seen them for a while.  I’m always amazed how much they’ve grown since I saw them.  For some of them who were babies when I saw them last, they are walking and talking – it’s amazing and delightful!  Growth and maturation are wonderful to see and I never tire of seeing it.  And yet, I shouldn’t be that amazed.  Growth and maturation are normal.  There’s something wrong when it doesn’t happen.

When I was growing up, my Mom did home daycare in our home.  One of the most memorable children she cared for was little Ryan.  Ryan came to us as a newborn and was with us for almost two years as I remember.  But after he had been with us for a while, it was clear that something was wrong – Ryan was not growing.  I was too young to remember all the details, but I do remember standing at my Mom’s side when Ryan’s mother was dropping him off one day and explaining the content of Ryan’s last doctor’s appointment.  I remember feeling scared for Ryan because the doctor had explained some dangerous complications that could develop if they could not get Ryan growing normally.  When children do not grow, it causes problems.

                The same is true of a Christian.  A Christian is supposed to grow continually.  When one has submitted to God and to being shaped by God’s word, spiritual growth and maturation should be expected.  At the risk of sounding redundant, something is wrong when spiritual growth is not happening.  It is not normal (or at least, it shouldn’t be) for someone to attend a church, hear the word of God week after week, and never change.  Friends, this causes problems.  Their unhealthy habits are never addressed.  Their ability to love is stunted.  Their spiritual vitality becomes stagnant.  And the effects are felt by the whole community.  The church is a body, an organism.  When a “cell” in that body is not producing, it affects the purpose and production of the whole body.  When multiple cells fail to produce, the effects are not unlike a cancer in a human body.  When untreated, the results can be deadly.

                This is why Peter spends some time exhorting his people to submit to the natural transformation that happens with regular engagement with the Word.  By that, Peter means engagement with the Savior Jesus who is the Word.  It’s not enough to be present in the room when words are being spoken;  we must expect that God will engage our spirits as God inhabits those words.  I have heard God speak to me through a person I personally disliked.  I have been corrected by God’s Spirit through people I was convinced were wrong.  I have received deep insight through the efforts of those from whom I never expected to get anything good.  God will use anything or anyone to grow you and cause you to mature.  That is what is supposed to happen.  And once more, when it is not happening, something’s wrong.

Prayer:  Forgive us to the extent that we have become complacent and stagnant in our faith Lord. Wake us up so that we may submit to the transformation of your Word.  Help us re-engage so that we may grow and mature according to your natural design and purpose for our lives. Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for innocent people who are in jail for crimes they did not commit.

Song:  Steve Camp – Revive Us, O Lord