Are You Connected?

by Matt Rogers

Often spiritual growth and development is thought of in terms of an event…something I attend or sign up for. The thought is that if I attend one more conference, hear another sermon, or have another mystical moment, then magically I will be transported to a desired height of spiritual attainment, and I will coast there until I die.

While intriguing in theory, this is simply not the way it works in practice or the Scriptures. Practically we know that spiritual formation takes time, is often complicated, and is much less programmatic than we would like to think. Scripturally we see that, while the giants of the faith may have had moments of bliss, their faith journeys were marked by sporadic, often frustrating, steps forwards and backwards. Many times it seems that they would simply never get it. 
 

That journey is far from an anomaly…it is the norm.
 

In a similar fashion, let’s say that I had a desire to bench press 350 pounds. While you might think that would be mere child’s play for someone with my athletic prowess and physical stature, the reality is that it would crush me. No amount of trying hard would work. I simply could not lift it. The only way to get to that goal would be to enlist in a training program whereby I would systematically take micro-level steps towards my stated goal. And it would not happen overnight. It would be hard. I would want to tap out. But it would be the only way.

Likewise, spiritual growth is much less an event than it is a process. It is a lifelong process of coming under the rule and reign of Jesus Christ as you increasingly submit to His Spirit and His Word in the context of a local church. However, few enlist for that type of program. There are a host of reasons most people shortcut the process and thereby remain stuck in their spiritual growth and maturation. 
 

• SOME LACK CONSISTENCY
  Due to church hopping, trivial pursuits, or lack of submission they fail to come under the authority and influence of a local church and choose to go at it alone (these are the folks that changes gyms each month).
   
• SOME LACK DISCIPLINE
  While they may be motivated to pursue sanctification for a short season, or after hearing a particularly gripping message, they lack the rigid focus required for the long haul (these are the folks that recommit to the gym each January). 
   
• SOME LACK HUMILITY
  Submitting to the leadership of a local church and allowing them to provide guidance and direction is in direct opposition to the pride that wars in our souls (these are the folks that rebel from their trainer).
   
• SOME LACK THE GOSPEL
  Instead of being adopted as sons and sealed with the Spirit, some have bought into a moralistic understanding of the gospel that betrays them in the moment of greatest need and undercuts the dependency prompted by the gospel (these are the folks that stare at the mirror but don’t get under the bar).
   

What about you?  

Simply stated, spiritual growth is a process. The question is whether or not you are in.