When it comes to the Christian life there are so many questions that may be asked—questions about ethics and morality, growth in Christ-likeness, repentance and forgiveness, loving our neighbor, using our gifts, suffering well, and enduring crises. There are, however, a few principles to which the answers to all these questions must conform. Some of these principles are worthy of a full discussion but are pretty well understood by all of us. We must cling to Christ and remember the good news of the gospel. We must not lose faith in trying circumstances nor become discouraged when we fail. There is one principle, however, that we too quickly forget; a principle that isn’t really intuitive and which we don’t want to acknowledge even when we are aware of it. It is the truth that growth in knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and conformity to Christ is almost always slow and grinding.

Sanctification is a slow process that continues for as long as we are alive in these bodies and Christ tarries in his return. At times in the history of the Church, there has been much excitement around apparent supernatural bursts of growth in the Church—both numerically and in the holiness of her members. The Church has, unwisely I think, tried to reproduce these events through scheduled revivals and Christian camping—all meant to produce what we now call “mountain top experiences.” The downside to this effort to generate supernatural works of God (as though we could), is a dissatisfaction with the ordinary means by which God shapes and grows his children. Ordinarily, God grows us slowly by the preaching of the Word, prayer, the sacraments, and quite frankly, hardship. 

So rather than think of all you don’t yet know or all the ways you fail daily, think of how far you’ve come already in your growth in grace. Rather than compare yourself to other believers, fix your eyes on Jesus, and trust that he is growing you at precisely the rate he intends. It may be slower than you’d like. It may be harder than you want it to be. But "I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Your fellow servant of Christ,
Pastor Matt