CREATIVE SPIRITUAL GROWTH

 

“Work out your own salvation...for it is God which worketh in you.” (Phil. 2:1-13)

How can spiritual growth be both a work of God and the work of a believer?

Imagine that one of the items on your bucket list has been to see the Rocky Mountains. You have longed for that experience, and the desire has finally been fulfilled. The mountains have come into sight. Now what? Since you are in the mountains, you can now enjoy the visit in a variety of ways. You can hike mountain trails, ski mountain slopes, photograph mountain beauty, sled down mountainsides, drive over mountaintops. You can hunt, fish, snowboard, swim, rock-climb, explore, and go four-wheeling, simply because you are in the mountains.

All of these exercises are possible because of the experience of being in the mountains. Experience enables exercise.

At the same time, your exercise increases your appreciation of the Rockies. You enjoy your visit all the more because you have skied, hunted, hiked, photographed, driven, explored and climbed. Without that exercise, the Rocky Mountains would just be another location. Exercise enhances experience.

When God calls us to Himself, to experience spiritual life in Him, our experience enables exercise. Because God has granted us life, we can exercise unto godliness. Being alive spiritually opens the way to spiritual activity. We now have the ability to study God, we can hike the trail of righteousness, we can appreciate godly beauty, we can fish for men, explore the Scriptures, climb to greater heights of faith, walk and talk with our Creator, worship His holiness and meditate on His goodness.

All those spiritual exercises are possible because of the experience of God-given spiritual life. Experience enables exercise.

At the same time, spiritual exercise increases our appreciation of God-given life. We enjoy the Christian life more because we have studied, explored, increased in faith, talked with God in prayer, worshipped and meditated. Exercise enhances experience.

We cannot grow spiritually without life from God. He provides the experience. We will not enjoy growing spiritually without exercise.

The mountains are there. Take a hike.