Growth in Discipleship
Reading: 2 Peter 3:14-18
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
To be a disciple is to be a follower, a learner. Becoming a disciple of Jesus is just the beginning of a life-long period of growth, not the end of a search for meaning.
Peter’s readers were reminded that they were expected to make continual progress in the Christian life. There is a goal toward which we are moving. Peter tells us there will come a time when Christ returns. We will be expected to be living lives of holiness and service, fit for Christ’s Kingdom. The only way we can do this is by daily study of God’s Word, and daily practice of the principles we learn from it.
If Jesus is Lord of our lives we must live in such a way that we demonstrate this belief. Ultimate control of everything we have: our money, our time, our abilities, our family, our church, our behavior, belongs to God. To grow in knowledge means we understand and live by this faith.
To grow in grace and knowledge means to develop. We are not finished products when we first confess our faith. Our priorities and attitudes are constantly changing as we learn more about Jesus Christ. We are ever more firmly rooted, but always going toward Christ.
For Reflection: Where do I see growth in my Christian life?
Prayer Seed:
Grant that knowledge, still increasing,
At Your feet may lowly kneel,
With Your grace our triumphs hallow,
With Your charity our zeal;
Lift the nations from the shadows
To the gladness of the sun.
Howell Elvet Lewis, 1916
