Text: Luke 2: 20, 52
Jesus showed us the pattern of growth in Luke 2:52. It is important not to stop at biological growth. Man is expected to grow in two dimension which is biological or physical growth and then spiritual growth. There is a need for us to grow in the spirit as we grow in the body. If you are growing, then it must be in these two areas. This is the pattern of grow prescribed by Jesus. Jesus himself didn’t stop at physical growth but he also waxed strong in the spirit because at the age of 12, we could see him speak like an ancient.
Do you think his ability to argue with professors in theology was as result of the volume of books he had read at that age? The reason why he was able to have that level of understanding was because he waxed strong in the spirit. We are not designed to run with our physical strength alone but also our spiritual strength. It is not supposed to be Jesus alone that should carry this dimension of wisdom but every believer. Such that when you open your mouth to talk or make contributions in your place of work, people will ask you if you had thought about that response for two year before then. That is to show the level of wisdom you produce as a believer.
The dimension of wisdom and power we should operate with should not be common to man. When we refuse to wax strong in the spirit, we will begin to operate like common men. It is an embarrassment to Christianity if we cannot bring a superior dimension to the common dimension we have here on earth. I refuse to be ordinary when i can be extraordinary. I refuse to operate by the wisdom of man if i can operate by the wisdom of God. If the word of God says I have access to the life of God, why would i say otherwise? Why would I want to be my least when I can be my best? Christianity is not just a religion. Jesus exemplified it and showed us that at the age of twelve, you could have a better understanding than your teachers.
This was possible because Jesus waxed strong in the spirit. Again we observed in Luk 2:40 that the grace of God was upon him. Anytime you do not have access to the grace of God, it shows deficiency in spiritual strength. The issue of spiritual growth is not something we should take with levity.
We have often heard that the spiritual control the physical. This can be likened to how the steering wheel control the car. As huge as the car may be, its direction is controlled by the direction of movement of the steering wheel. That is exactly how the spiritual has the ability to determine the outcome of the physical. What this means is that outcomes are not determined from here. Outcomes are determined from another realm which is the spiritual realm.
What many of us are not seening is the person behind the steering. The steering does not move itself. It has a controller. If you take charge in the spirit, then you are steering your spiritual wheel in the right direction of advancement and progress. Many of cannot even sense the realm while others have left the steering. That is when you observe one witch from your village with take control of the steering wheel and turn it in a direction you do not expect and the so called believer will be shouting of something or someone pressing him/her at night. That should not be the confession of a believer. A believer is supposed to be in control of the wheel, turning it in the direction as he/she receives whispers from God.
1 Corth 2:14, the natural man cannot receive the things of the spirit of God, they are foolishness to him because they are spiritually discerned. It does not matter how much you try to make him understand that God is good and beautiful and capable of healing, he does not understand it because he has not been born into the realm where he can sense and perceive the reality of the realm.
Spirituality is not a cliché but a must for the believer 1 Cor 3: 14. Being born is the first step in spirituality but you don’t stop there. We cannot fold hands and allow things to happen on their own, we must take charge of our lives spiritually. As you do, you will see the light of God shining brighter and brighter on your path.
The second step after being born again is spiritual growth Gal 4:1. A heir as long as he is a child is not different from a servant until he grows. What is yours is not yours until growth begins to take place.
Anytime you rise and fall from a sin as a believer it is a testament that you are still a child 1 John 2:12. Young men and fathers are characterised by strength because they have overcome the wicked one and the word of God abide in them 1 John 2:14. The statement that spirituality is making is growth. Make the decision to grow as a child of God to truly advance in this year.
Shalom!