The Expectation to Grow

The expectation to grow

If I live to be 1,000 years old (I certainly do not want that) I will never cease to be endlessly intrigued by God’s Word. There is no hyperbole I can engage to describe the wonder of the Bible. It is the most amazing and fascinating collection of written words that has ever come into existence. It is both enigmatic and accessible…simple and intricately complex…perplexing and amazingly transparent. It contains every single thing we need to know about God. About us. About the world we live in. About the people we share this little blue planet with. It answers a million questions and raises almost as many more. It is, literally, in a class by itself.

In most ways the Bible cannot be read like any other book on the planet. It is the only book that is the Word of God. It is the only book that is 100% true. It is the only book that is completely trustworthy (because the Author is completely trustworthy). Therefore, it stands apart from all other books. However (and here is one of the reasons it is so intriguing), in some ways it is to be read exactly as we would read any other book in the world. This is one of those amazing paradoxes we see related to the Word of God. What do I mean when I say that it sometimes should be read like we would read any other book? I’m glad you asked that very good question.

The Bible uses the same writing paradigms that secular books do. It contains narrative. It contains poetry. It contains metaphors and similes. It contains figures of speech and colloquial maxims. It contains allegories and symbolism. It sometimes communicates events in chronological order and sometimes not. And the same rules that apply in secular writings using these things are the same rules that apply to the Bible. Narratives should be treated the same way as poetry. Metaphors, similes, and hyperbole are not to be taken as literally as straight narrative. When Jesus said: “I am the gate” (John 10:9), He obviously did not mean He was a literal wood gate with hinges and a handle. When He said He wanted to gather the people of Jerusalem as a mother hen gathers her chicks, only a fool would conclude that Jesus was a chicken.

The use of metaphors and allegories are central to understanding what God is actually trying to communicate to us as we study His Word. But we should really look at these things much more closely when reading His Word. The metaphors He uses become more powerful when we look at the thing He uses with more care and detail. Jesus used a lot of different ways to communicate what salvation actually is and how it actually works. If we simply say: “Yeah, I know what He means”…and then quickly move on…we’re gonna miss some stuff. And one thing I’ve learned in my 40 years of studying His Word…you don’t want to miss any stuff.

I have been forever fascinated with the physical event used in Scripture over and over again to most simply and completely explain salvation. It begins with a brief but life-altering conversation Jesus had with an inquisitive Pharisee named Nicodemus. This event is found in John 3. I’m sure you are familiar with. After Nicodemus mischaracterized Jesus and by extension salvation, Jesus says something amazing. “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). Nicodemus understands the reference, bit misses the meaning…but he’s not far off. He tells Jesus that people cannot go back into the mother’s womb and be born again. He doesn’t see the symbolism but seems to by the time Jesus is crucified.

This idea of using the physical/natural act of birth to describe what happens when we are saved is extraordinary. Since God’s Word says that when we are saved that we are a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), then it stands to reason that this new creation had to have gone through a birth process…and all that goes with it. But the Bible doesn’t relegate this analogy simply to salvation…but also in the maturing/growing part of being a Believer. And it is spot on if we think not only about the spiritual aspect of this but the physical process that is being used. In Hebrews 5, the writer of Hebrews scolds immature Believers because they “need milk, not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12). He is saying that by this time they should be teachers but instead need to be taught the basics all over again. Hence the milk and solid food reference. He is acknowledging that they have been born (again), but they are not growing.

This is an analogy we can all sink our teeth into. My wife and I having raised 4 kids ourselves, I began to think in more detail about this construct. Part of having children is marking milestones of expected, healthy growth. Watching an infant grow is oftentimes marking off the list of things that are normal and expected. The first time they push up; roll over; sit up; stand on their own; pull up in their crib; take their first steps; walk alone; say their first words…and so on. And when they don’t hit those milestones, what do we do? Well…we take them to the doctor because we think: There is something wrong. This is not the way it is supposed to be. It is so easy to take note of the lack of expected progress and see that as a problem. But do we do that with spiritual growth?

Just as physical growth is expected…and lack of it distressing…we should equally see the same with spiritual growth (or lack thereof). That’s why God chose this natural/physical act to adequately describe spiritual birth and growth. It is expected that we grow in Christ. In His Word. In His truth. And when that does not happen…just as is physical life…something is wrong. Something is very wrong. And we need to see it as wrong and whatever we can to allow Him to grow us. Why? Because it is natural. It is natural for physical growth. It is natural with spiritual growth. Salvation (birth) is an event. Discipleship (growing) is a process that will last the rest of our natural lives.

Most church goers today are, theologically, a mile wide and an inch deep. They have not grown to be able to eat solid food and are perpetually a child being given milk. We would never tolerate that with our physical growth…why would we tolerate it with our spiritual growth? Are you able to eat solid food…or are you stuck with milk? It’s a good question to think about.