My then five-year old daughter had quickly cleaned her plate and was reaching for another biscuit. Someone at the table remarked, “Wow, you must be going through a growth spurt!” Abi Kate quickly put down the biscuit and put her hands at her side. Her grandmother asked her what was wrong.  She replied, “I don’t want to spurt.”

 

It does sound painful, doesn’t it? We expect our children to grow and mature. If they didn’t, we would take them to the doctor to find out what was wrong. The same is true for Christians. “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).  As disciples, we never reach a point where we stop growing. We are always learning, following, studying, and applying God’s word to our lives. Just as it is exciting to watch new Christians learn and grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord (2 Peter 3:18), it is frightening to see someone stop growing. Something is wrong!

 

It takes time to grow. It takes time to study to show yourself approved (2 Timothy 2:15).  It takes time to pray and have a meaningful conversation with God.  It takes planning and time to assemble with the saints to worship and encourage one another.  It takes time to visit the sick, write a card to someone, and go to a Bible study.  It takes time (and patience) to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).  If we are not growing as we should, the question may be, “How are we spending our time?”

 

Purge. We live in a wicked world. Access to impure thoughts and works of the flesh are now just a click away on our computers.  What do you do after work or school or on the weekends with your friends?  We need to examine our lives and how we employ our time and see if there might be some purging that needs to take place.  To purge is “to remove undesirable elements from” (Webster).  In other words, we need to take out the trash.  We need to routinely purge sin from our lives.  David wrote, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.  Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities” (Psalm 51:7-9).  Want to have more time for spiritual things?  We need to regularly take out the trash that is cluttering our lives.  It will stunt our growth.

 

Prune.  Sometimes we can fill our lives with activities that are not bad, but they choke out the time for better things.  In Jesus’ teaching on the vine and the branches, He says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2).  Christians should be about producing fruit.  Sometimes, superfluous hobbies, meetings, clubs, or events take up valuable space in our lives that could be put to better use.  Which activities, if more concentration were given to them, would make a significant difference in the spiritual lives of our families and the church?  Perhaps we, like Martha, need to prune some activities and chose the better part (Luke 10:38-42).

 

Partner. We tend to do better when we have someone else around to encourage us.  Accountability is a powerful tool.  Partnering with someone who has the same spiritual goals will not only help you do better, but it will provoke the other person to improve as well.  “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17). We need to find a mentor or companion who will help us along our spiritual walk; someone who will be honest, encouraging and even have the courage to discipline when the need arises.

 

When we grow, we are capable of doing more.  We need to purge, prune, and partner to help produce spiritual growth. Just as our grandparents may comment on how much we have grown from time to time, our Father in heaven is glorified when He sees our progress (John 15:8).  Growth spurts can be painful, but we shouldn’t be afraid to reach for another biscuit!