What is Spiritual Growth?
When we accept Christ as our Savior, often called becoming "born again," we are very similar to newborn babies. Newborns, as sweet and innocent as they are, need the nourishment of milk to grow stronger. It is important that they start this as soon as possible after their birth. New Christians also need nourishment and often naturally crave pure spiritual milk so that they can grow into the fullness of salvation. Their soul cries out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, now that they have had a taste of the Lord's kindness.
In addition to nourishment; babies and later, children especially need protection from many things that can hurt them. Parents naturally are protective of their children as they teach them daily about such things. Starting with simple warnings like "No" or "Hot" later become more detailed as the child is able to understand. God loves us and wants the best for His children also. We are told to be careful and to watch out for attacks from the Devil, our great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. He further tells us to take a firm stand against him, and be strong in our faith. Remember that our Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering that we are. Steady spiritual growth comes from the study of God's Word.
We know that all living things need constant nourishment in order to remain healthy. The same is true of our spiritual nature. We began like babies who drink only milk and could not eat solid food. The person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life and doesn't know much about doing what is right. Solid food is needed for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.
At Heritage, we want to serve you by providing and encouraging you in many opportunities for your spiritual growth. Your balanced diet comes through a variety of sources: worship services, weekly classes, special activities, organized classes, and personal Bible studies. May God bless you as you learn, grow, mature, and remain well nourished and spiritually healthy.
