Under Construction

What is the biggest room in your house? The room for improvement, of course! There is always room for improvement in our lives. No matter how much we may think that we have arrived, there are still rough edges and missing pieces that need work. The typical homeowner knows that there is always something that needs to be fixed, replaced, removed or added. That means he has two choices-either get to work on those things or forget about them. Obviously, the former is preferred over the latter.

The same is true with our spiritual lives. There is always room for improvement, and we can either work on it or forget about it. God's will is that we "build [ourselves] up in [our] most holy faith" (v. 20).

You started out your Christian life as a baby believer, one needing to be fed the milk of the Word. As you grew and developed, you moved from milk to meat. The parallels between physical growth and spiritual growth make it easy for us to understand. As the child is fed, he grows and develops. As the believer is fed the Word, he also grows and develops.

Sometimes, though, a Christian may be content to stay a child in the faith. That is not the same as childlike faith. Also, there is no excuse for stunted spiritual growth. God wants, expects and commands us to mature. It is a building process that should occur in the life of every believer.

Are you growing in your faith, or are you stagnant? Reading the Bible is part of the growth process, as is praying, which is also mentioned in this key verse today. Be sure to do both every day.

By Woodrow Kroll, Tony Beckett, taken from "Faith Walk"