Making Progress In Life

Imagine you had a cute little baby, and after all the labor of taking care of it day after day, month after month, and year after year, it just did not grow! Wouldn't that be so frustrating? As much as the infants are absolutely adorable, their growth is a very essential.

Now, these are some aspects of our lives in which growth is so vital, in which we are ordinarily expected to grow;

• Physically (we care to grow in height, strength and size, so we eat food, drink water, sleep and do whatever we can to grow. As stewards of our bodies, we should care for them diligently because they are temples of the LORD)
• Mentally (we are trained from infancy, to be mentally sharp. We receive an education to sharpen everything we learn through all the formative years of our lives, and continue learning if we care enough)
• Emotionally (It would surely be crazy if an adult burst out crying like a two month old just because something simple has been denied them. We learn through the years to control our emotions and express them effectively and less and less dramatically)
• Spiritually (This aspect takes the most initiative and intentionality on our part because there is hardly any real pressure from a need for accountability. No tests and exams except from those allowed to us by God.) 

Each of these areas in your life needs to grow because when one does not grow, you become poorly balanced, frustrated with your being or state. We are all meant to grow, going against that is going against nature.

Where we grow, how we grow and what grows in us matter. The quality of our fruit matters a whole lot. And when you want to know what kind of person someone is, all you have to do is taste their fruit. There are all kinds of fruit but these are the fruit of having the Holy Spirit in your life; 

Galatians 5:22-23"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

The Bible has this to say about the conditions of our growth;

John 15:1-5

 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. "

From here we see that the process of growth is painful, we have to let go of some detrimental things in order to have valuable ones. And many times we love the detrimental. We get so attached to it. But God sees that it must go and He cuts it out. For His glory and for our good.

Growth is like a road trip, we do not arrive till the end of our life's journey. So, please do not give up on your journey of growth. The rest of your life starts now.

May the LORD be your gardener and make something beautiful and worthy out of your life as you grow.