Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – Everyone who believes in Jesus longs to draw closer to God and grow deeper in their relationship with Him. So how can we take our spiritual life to the next level?
Scripture urges us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Spiritual growth does not happen by accident, but requires habits nurtured every day.
As a Christian, you have a spiritual life. Like anything that grows naturally, a spiritual life can thrive or slowly die, be full of energy or struggle, decline or drift with the current. Here are five essentials that help believers grow stronger in their faith:
5 Essentials for Spiritual Growth
1. Immerse yourself in Christian community
If we want to grow spiritually, we should not underestimate or ignore the role and importance of community. Dr. Mary Lowe has said that we are shaped socially, emotionally, psychologically and morally by those around us. If you don’t attend church regularly yet, that is a great place to start your spiritual growth. If possible, join a small group or a volunteer team. Take part in church events too, because they are a good way to connect with your community of faith.
2. Be completely transformed
Spiritual growth affects and changes every part of your inner life, especially as you go deeper with God. In Ephesians 4, Paul tells us the goal of this transformation is the Holy Spirit’s work of helping us reach “maturity” (4:13), “grow up in every way” (4:15) and become more like Christ. Dr. Lowe says God’s greatest purpose is to help us grow as we walk in close relationship with Him.
3. Make wise choices
The people around us always influence our lives, so make wise choices that help your spiritual life grow. We often think what we do individually has little or no effect on the body of Christ, but in reality we are connected to and influence many more people than we think. The core of Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 12 is that if one part of the body suffers, every part suffers with it, and if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
How do we influence one another? How can we grow together? If friends and family pull you away from your faith or keep you from church, you need wisdom to return step by step without damaging your relationships. You don’t necessarily have to cut off those relationships, but ask fellow believers to encourage and help you keep your faith. What matters is that you walk with God every day.
4. Use social media well
Living in a digital age, think of using social media the way Paul and the other apostles wrote letters to the early churches. Through it, you can share news, connect with and encourage others regardless of distance. We can give and receive care from anyone, building valuable connections within the community of believers. Paul wrote letters to nourish, encourage and grow the spiritual life of each church (1 Thessalonians 4:1, 18; Ephesians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 10:11).
5. Influence many people (in three degrees)
Someone once wrote that social influence does not stop with the people we are directly connected to: we influence our friends, our friends influence others, which means we even influence people we have never met. What we do and say tends to ripple through our social networks to our friends (first degree), our friends’ friends (second degree) and their friends (third degree). That can be wonderful and also a great challenge, because what matters for spiritual growth is to recognize the positive influence of our networks and minimize the negative.
Faith does not grow on its own. It flourishes when it is rooted in community, sharing responsibility and knowledge with fellow believers near and far. Faith grows when we meet and take part in things together. The more we prioritize our spiritual life, spending focused time nurturing it, praying and studying God’s Word, the more our spiritual life grows, our relationship with God deepens and we bear much fruit.
Dr. Mary Lowe shares how community has wonderfully shaped her own spiritual life: “My husband Steve and I attended a Sunday school class at our church for nearly ten years before we moved away. Throughout that time, we experienced God as we learned and grew in a community of believers. Our small group became more connected through personal relationships and became a community that prayed, worshiped, shared struggles and trials and helped one another in life.
“It was a community that studied the Bible together, ate together, prayed together, lived life together and did what we could. Looking back from our first days to our last in that class, we saw that we knew more, had better relationships and could do more. We trusted and encouraged one another and were led more by God in life. We were no longer the beginners we had been, but shared our lives with one another to build a strong community of faith.”
When we focus on these five things, our relationship with God and with other Christians will grow. We can grow in both the length and breadth of our faith, with the ultimate goal of being “fully mature in Christ,” as Paul said in Colossians 1:28.
Starting a Life of Spiritual Growth
You don’t need to do all five things at once. Choose the one you lack most and start there. A growing spiritual life is built through small but steady steps.
Remember that spiritual growth is the Holy Spirit’s work in us. Our part is to stay close to God, and He will give the growth.
You may also like: Be Patient With Your Slow Spiritual Growth and Daily Devotional Time in 5 Simple Steps.
Prayer
Lord, give us a growing spiritual life, knowing You, loving You and becoming more like You every day. Give us a hunger for Your Word, for prayer and for love for one another. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Article: Translation Team – Communications Ministry, Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church
Adapted from: Crosswalk.com
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