My word for 2020: “Grow”…….in grace, in obedience to God’s will, in the fruit of the Spirit, in spirit-soul-body, in all the ways that God has intended and ordained….. “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Christ-child was sanctified from conception while growing into his full adulthood, may we grow in all the ways God has intended for us to grow and may it be counted as righteousness unto us by God.
I use this human development chart with our students to assist them in self-evaluating where they are in their development in the various ways in which humans grow. We use Luke 2:52 as a guideline. “And Jesus grew in wisdom, and stature, and favor with God and favor with man.”
Growth in Wisdom = Growth Intellectually and Emotionally
Growth in Stature = Growth Physically and Morally
Growth in Favor with God = Growth Spiritually
Growth in Favor with Man = Growth Socially
Very often just the action of identifying areas of their lives in which they have lagged behind can spur new growth.
