“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18 ESV)

It’s a matter of survival!

 At the beginning of spring, I planted my flower seeds in seed trays so they’d be ready to go into the ground once the danger of frost is past. Planting the seeds is just the start of many stages to come. The seeds had to be planted in good soil, watered, given light, fertilized, and protected from the elements until ready to be transplanted outside. If I failed any of the steps, they wouldn’t survive.

It’s the same with spiritual growth

I couldn’t help but notice the many similarities between growing healthy plants and growing healthy followers of Jesus. It also reminded me of something I heard Billy Graham say in an interview many years ago. He was asked how many of the people who had come forward at his crusades actually stuck with the commitment they had made. His answer was shocking! He said the answer was only about eight percent! He went on to explain that so much failure was because they had not been taught how to grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, so they never grew and they failed.

Therefore

“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” (1 Tim. 4:15 ESV) 

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Col. 2:6-7 ESV)