THE GROWTH IMPERATIVE
Accepting Jesus as your Savior is the start of a new way of life.
It is a commitment to grow in the knowledge of God and a dedication to learn how to think, love, forgive, serve, lead and live like Jesus did. We are to advance in this new life until it becomes us; until our habits, speech and behavior become increasingly godly and worthy of the calling we have received. The apostle Peter wrote that “God called you and chose you to be His. Do your best to live in a way that shows you really are God’s called and chosen people” (2 Peter 2:10 ERV). Spiritual growth means that we gradually get rid of the old way of thinking, habits and attitudes and put on the new self with the help of the Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 7, Jesus said everyone who hears his words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. We are each a house that, before salvation, is built on shaky and unstable ground. When we receive salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our house and helps to renovate it. The renovation process is spiritual growth. We grow by becoming increasingly knowledgeable and practiced at recognizing and discarding old thoughts and habits, and replacing them with virtues that promote godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior.
Remember that Jesus was the physical manifestation of God, that his life is the model for godliness and that Christians are apprenticed to Jesus. We must endeavor to be his true followers by patterning our lives, values, priorities and actions after him.
