A Growing Concern

By Mark Swegar

“Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and grace…” Luke 2:52

I have a beef with the evangelical movement. We love our altar calls so we can brag about our soul-winning numbers, but then we leave new converts to themselves and seek more people who will pray the sinner’s prayer.

Why don’t we focus instead on growing these people in the Lord? Whose kingdom are we really trying to build up? Let’s be honest. It’s more fun to care for babies than teenagers, but that leaves us with an immature church that is ill-prepared to be God’s army. You can’t have a sword in one hand and a pacifier in the other.

Jesus wasn’t born with wisdom and grace; he grew up into these things. Aren’t you glad the parents of Jesus didn’t “save” him and then leave Him? We have too many spiritual obstetricians and not enough pediatricians. We need to focus on growth, not just salvation.

After Abraham and Sarah received God’s promise of a child, it took years before they saw it. Yet Abraham “grew strong in faith... becoming fully assured that God is able to call into existence that which does not exist” Romans 4:17-24

Jesus said that from the good soil the seed sprouts and grows – “first the blade, then the head, and finally the mature grain in the head.” Mark 4:28 Peter adds, “be eager… to grow up unto salvation.” 1 Peter 2:2

We are called to be the Bride of Christ. Marriage is not for a little girl, but for a mature woman. How long does it take the Bride to prepare to put on His clean, white, righteous deeds? The book of Revelation begins with Christ the Prophet admonishing His church to grow up, and it ends with Christ the Groom admiring his perfectly developed bride. (See Revelation 19:7-9)

Those of us who are parents fondly recall the infant years of our children, but we focus most of our energy on helping them grow into the best person possible as they get older. That’s because we’re not raising babies, we’re raising adults! In the church it’s always exciting when someone gets saved. But even better is someone becoming the mature spiritual adult God has called him/her to be.

The most rewarding times are watching someone grasp a new truth, deepen their relationship with the Lord, and pass their joys and successes on to someone else. When a person gets saved, we should invest time and energy and prayers into them to be sure they immediately begin growing in Christ. It’s a lifelong journey that cannot be accomplished alone. The devil always tries to snatch them back into darkness, so we must do our most diligent work with young believers.

Let’s all grow up together, hand in hand. Who knows? The person you work with may be the next Billy Graham. Maybe God has chosen you to take them to the next level… and the next, growing up, changing, “from glory to Glory, into his very image.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

Mark Swegar writes from Medford, Oregon. markswegar@yahoo.com