How Much Have You Grown?

Jan 27

When our children were growing up, there was an event that each of them looked forward to. The day they finally were taller than “little” grandma. My wife’s mother stood all of 4’ 10” tall and was very good natured about this rite of passage that each of her grandchildren anticipated. It was a joyous day in their life when they could finally lay claim to this milestone. Today, our own grandchildren are eager to see how much they have grown as they stand back-to-back with their Nana to see if they have surpassed her height of 5’ 2” on their own quest to being all grown up.

This tradition serves as a reminder to me that I also need to stop for a moment and see how I am growing in my own life. Typically for me this happens around the end of one year and as a new one begins. A time when many of us take stock of where we have been and set goals for where we want to be in the upcoming year. When I take this opportunity, I often turn to the passage in Luke 2: 42 – 52, where we catch one of the few glimpses into the childhood of Jesus. And it is verse 52 that always captures my eye: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”

In this one simple verse we see four areas that Luke the physician deemed important enough to bring to our attention. Jesus grew physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. As a new year is beginning you and I need to pause a moment to see where we stand in the growth department.

First, we see that Jesus grew physically. He was called to the strenuous life of a laborer’s son. He would walk everywhere he went. And he was going to endure physical hardships along the way, including a brutal 24-hour period when he was repeatedly beaten and finally crucified. He certainly was not the soft, flabby person many of us have become. When I reflect on my own physical growth, I recognize that while I am certainly done growing “up,” it seems I continue to grow “out.” But to serve the Lord, I need to be physically the best I can be. While illness and age can happen to us all, many times my own handicaps are self-imposed. Overeating (Ouch!). Not enough exercise (double Ouch!). Too much TV on the way to becoming a couch potato (Ouch x 3!). When we are not growing physically, we are not able to be our best for God. We don’t have to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but we can all likely tone ourselves up a bit to serve God.

Second, Luke says Jesus grew in wisdom. We see many times in the Bible that all the wisdom of man isn’t worth very much. But Jesus still grew in wisdom. He spent many hours studying and memorizing the Law and the Prophets. And that time was well spent as he was able to overcome that temptations that Satan threw at him. And so we’re challenged to grow in our knowledge each year. How many books have you read? How much have you studied the Bible? How much do you know about what is going on in the world around you? How useful is the knowledge that you have gained in your service to God? Are you doing great at Jeopardy questions or great in the questions of faith? God wants us to grow in wisdom. About the world, so we can know how best to reach out to it. And he wants us to grow in our knowledge and wisdom about him, so we can better understand how to best serve him.

Third, Luke tells us Jesus grew in favor with men – he grew socially. The Bible is clear that we aren’t to live our lives to please men. But at the same time, we need to develop ourselves socially so we can see the opportunities we have to meet the needs of others and to serve them. We aren’t going to be great servants in the kingdom if we allow ourselves to be isolated from the world. We aren’t going to have much of an impact on those around us if we are prickly and unapproachable. We need to be firmly rooted in the faith. But we also need to cultivate a personality that allows us to share our witness to others. Jesus was accepted socially by the people – he attended weddings, feasts, parties, etc. – but he did so in order to be close to the people who had the greatest need for him, so he could see those needs and meet them. We need to continue to grow socially.

Finally, Jesus grew in favor with God – he grew spiritually. This may be the most challenging to each of us. In our busy world it is so easy to get caught up in lots of activities and not to take the time to get to know God the way we should. Jesus possessed a unique relationship with God. He was with him in heaven prior to coming to Earth, yet while he was here on Earth, he maintained an unbroken fellowship with God. We read repeatedly in the Scriptures that he went off to a quiet place to pray and to spend time with God. Think about that for a moment – if the Son of God (the one who probably enjoyed the closest relationship to God that anyone ever has) needed to spend time with God, then how much more so do we? Jesus grew in favor with God because he spent time with him. Are you growing spiritually? Or you just sliding by enough, so it looks like you’re growing when really you haven’t attained the full measure of maturity that Paul mentions in Ephesians 4:11 – 14.

The end of one year and the beginning of a new one is an excellent time to stop and reflect on what has happened in our life and to plan for the future. The challenge is for us to look at how we’re growing physically, mentally, socially and spiritually in our lives.