Of Growth and Garbage

My sophomore year in college I lived in an apartment with three other guys.  We had a poster in our kitchen which proclaimed: “Growth is the only sign of life.” One of my roommates (or was it me?) positioned it appropriately over our bountiful and often-ripe trash can.  God only knows what grew there.  That quote (and odor) has stuck with me all these years.  The deeper meaning for me has been that I want to be a person that is growing and I want to be part of an organization and group of people that continually wants to grow.  It says to me that real growth doesn’t have a finish line.

I’ve had lots of educational finish lines in my life.  If you count grade school, I’ve graduated eight times.  But of course, you know that it didn’t take me all of those classes to discover what everyone knows intuitively: education doesn’t mean growth any more than knowledge alone means wisdom.  One can help the other, but other factors are involved.  Growth is more than just reaching a milestone of knowledge before pressing on to the next one.

So, what does “growth” really mean for a Christian? 

In short, it means becoming more like Christ.  You were made in God’s image.  Most Christians have heard that for years and would say they believe it to be true.  However, because of sin, a whole lot of gunk and garbage obfuscates that profile.  Left to myself, I don’t look very much like Christ (and neither do you).  To “grow” means to become transformed more and more into His image – to become that person God intended for me to be – “like Christ in everything” (Ephesians 4:15, Msg.).  Wow!  What a concept! 

Becoming like Christ... imitating Him.  That’s a daily kind of thing.  It’s not simply about acting more spiritual, practicing certain religious disciplines, or looking more holy than I used to look.  In fact, everyone knows it’s not about appearances at all.  If it’s not validated by what’s on the inside it’s hypocrisy, and who wants to be a hypocrite? Christian growth is about living life in the mundane activities, the pressure-packed moments, the tired and stressful moments, the times of simple joys, and all of the other occasions – walking as Jesus would walk.  Responding more and more like Him from the inside, out. 

C.S. Lewis once made an interesting observation (Ok, I know... He made lots of interesting observations, but here’s another one that relates to becoming like Christ):

“Our imitation of God in this life – that is, our willed imitation as distinct from any of the likenesses which He has impressed upon our natures or states – must be an imitation of God incarnate: our model is the Jesus, not only of Calvary, but of the workshop, the roads, the crowds, the clamorous demands and surly oppositions, the lack of all peace and privacy, the interruptions. For this, so strangely unlike anything we can attribute to the Divine life in itself, is apparently not only like, but is, the Divine life operating under human conditions.”  (The Four Loves, Intro.). 

In other words, for me to become like Christ, I need to follow His example in all aspects of life, not just those which look overtly spiritual or even sacrificial. 

More than jewelry.

I know that lots of people have gotten burned-out on WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets and bumper stickers, but that question (first coined by Charles Sheldon in 1896 in his book, In His Steps), really is still a good one to consider.  I think about that question and ask it as a sort of prayer from time to time.  Of course, it’s not just my behavior that matters (what Jesus did), but who I am on the inside that counts.  That is the challenge.

I’ll confess to you, as I have in some of the previous posts, I don’t have this thing wired. I’ve got a long way to grow.  (You probably knew that, but if not, I’m happy to confirm your suspicions.)  I don’t always act the way I should.  I don’t always put “first things first” in my life.  I don’t always treat Jeanine or our kids or our staff or others in the church or our neighbors the way that I would like.  Sometimes I get tired and fed up.  Sometimes the “workshop, the roads, the crowds, the clamorous demands and surly oppositions, the lack of all peace and privacy, the interruptions” of life get to me.  That is discouraging to me.  And then I can even get discouraged that I’m discouraged (can you relate?).  I can say with honesty that I have done my best (and I unfortunately have a number of examples) when I have hurt someone or not treated someone well or when I have known that they have had something against me... I have tried to apologize and as best I could, make it right (that hasn’t happened since earlier today).  I’m not sure what all of that means, except it is a reminder to me that I still have some growing to do.  Sometimes, it all feels like garbage.

Thankfully, God can clean up my messes (1 John 1:9).  Yours, too.  And if He wants me to grow, I know it means that He can help me to do it.  I really like the Message’s paraphrase of Ephesians 4:15 that we are using as our memory verse for this week.  It is a challenge and great reminder for me, and I hope, for you: “God wants us to grow – to know the whole truth and tell it in love – like Christ in everything!”

May God help you and me to grow forward into the future!