“Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head — Christ.” Ephesians 4:14-15
We live in a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to know things. We have constant, instant access to more information than the human mind can possibly handle. It’s easy to find two credentialed experts – and a whole host of non-credentialed ones – that have different interpretations of the same information. Throw in AI’s fast growing ability to look and sound incredibly real for snippets at a time, and we are surrounded by a soup of human cunning that will rip us apart if we let it.
LEFT TO FLOUNDER
This turmoil can leave us stagnant. Even as we grow physically – those dratted bad knees and backaches of your thirties and forties, not to mention all the fun of your fifties and sixties, are coming for us all – we can stunt out mental, emotional, and spiritual growth if we let the world tell us what that should look like.
This isn’t a new problem. It didn’t get invented with the Internet, even if that makes it difficult in a whole new way. Paul was concerned about this very issue when he wrote his letter to the church at Ephesus. His advice from all those centuries ago is still relevant. Grow towards Christ. Grow to be more like him. Jesus doesn’t change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
Part of the problem is that we use our susceptible human minds to determine what growing toward Christ looks like. People’s cunning, cleverness, and deceit can and will use the name of Jesus to manipulate you, sometimes in seemingly opposite directions. The world’s priorities will shift on the regular, leaving you floundering for direction if you allow them to guide you.
TIME TO BE STRETCHED
So how do we grow into Christ-likeness? We have to know Him instead of things. Read your Bible. Study context and history around it. Consider multiple viewpoints of interpretation and pray for guidance on which is correct. Allow your inclinations and preferences to be wrong and in need of alteration. That is how we grow. We shed the things we learn to be not like Christ and work to attain the things that are.
Even when they don’t align with the ideals of our family, friends, or celebrity idols. Growth can be painful and difficult, but so is being tossed around by the whims of others. We live in a world with a lot of problems and there will be times when your faith and convictions call you to combat those problems. But there will also be times for you to pay more attention to your neighbor or your family or even yourself.
This isn’t a call to join or walk away from any particular cause. It isn’t a declaration for or against any political stance or movement. It’s a reminder that if we have declared Christ the ruler of our lives, He is to be the most important thing. Grow in every way into him who is the head.
CHOOSE TO GROW
Growth takes time and requires you give yourself the permission to change your thoughts, your behaviors, and your priorities. It also requires you to give those around you permission to change as well.
Growth isn’t easy or quick. But when you move consistently toward an unmoving goal, you’ll be able to look back over time and see how far you’ve come.
Award-winning author, Kristi Ann Hunter, has been a lover of stories from a very young age. Now she spins her faith and humor into romantic tales set in Regency England. Her books include A Noble Masquerade and Vying for the Viscount. They celebrate the fact that God created people in His image and offers His grace to all. When she isn’t writing or consuming large amounts of Chick-fil-A diet lemonade, she works on her podcast, A Rough Draft Life, and spends time with her family and working with the youth at her church.
Visit Kristi Ann’s website
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