Peter ends his second letter with an invitation to grow.
Not merely to know more.
Not merely to become more disciplined.
To grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Growth is one of Scripture’s most persistent images for Christian life. Seeds grow. Trees bear fruit. Children mature. Disciples learn.
The image assumes something important: life with God is not static.
Grace Is Both Beginning and Environment
Christians sometimes speak as though grace is primarily how the Christian life begins, after which serious effort takes over.
Peter gives us a different picture.
We begin by grace and continue growing in grace.
Grace is not permission to remain unchanged. Nor is growth a project by which we eventually stop needing grace.
The more mature we become, the more clearly we recognise our dependence upon God.
Growth Is Often Slow
We prefer visible progress.
A completed course.
A qualification.
A measurable target.
Spiritual growth is often harder to quantify.
Perhaps we become slightly slower to anger.
We apologise sooner.
We listen more carefully.
A temptation that once dominated us loses some of its power.
We become more comfortable admitting we do not know.
These changes may take years.
Slow growth is still growth.
Jesus’ picture of seed growing reminds us that much of God’s work happens beyond our observation.
Knowledge Should Produce Relationship
Peter connects grace with knowledge of Christ.
Biblical knowledge is more than collecting information about Jesus.
We can know dates, doctrines and passages while keeping Christ at a distance.
Christian formation moves knowledge towards relationship.
We learn Christ’s teaching so that we can follow him. We contemplate his character so that our own character may be reshaped. We receive his grace so that we can extend grace to others.
Knowledge that never reaches life remains incomplete.
Growth Includes Pruning
Some growth involves addition.
New understanding.
New gifts.
New opportunities.
Other growth involves letting go.
Jesus uses the image of pruning.
There may be habits, ambitions, resentments or identities that cannot accompany us into greater maturity.
Pruning can feel like loss before it looks like fruitfulness.
Stop Comparing Growth
Comparison makes formation difficult.
Someone else appears more knowledgeable, confident or spiritually disciplined. We measure their visible life against our private struggles.
But people grow in different circumstances and at different rates.
The question is not whether our life resembles somebody else’s journey.
The question is whether we are responding faithfully to Christ where we are.
Failure Does Not Cancel Formation
Growth is rarely a straight line.
We repeat mistakes.
Old habits reappear.
We respond badly after believing we had changed.
Grace means failure can become part of formation rather than the end of it.
We confess. We receive forgiveness. We make amends where necessary. We learn. We continue.
Repentance is not evidence that growth has failed. The willingness to repent may itself be evidence of growth.
Community Helps Us See Change
Other people sometimes notice formation before we do.
A friend recognises greater patience. A colleague notices that we respond differently under pressure. A church community gives us opportunities to serve, forgive and be forgiven.
Christian growth is personal, but it is not private.
We need people who encourage what is good and lovingly challenge what remains unhealthy.
Fruit Matters
Jesus consistently directs attention towards fruit.
Paul names the fruit of the Spirit:
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
These provide a better measure of formation than religious busyness alone.
We might know more Scripture and still need to ask whether we are becoming kinder.
We might serve in more roles and still need to ask whether we are becoming patient.
Formation should increasingly resemble Christ.
The Invitation
Where have you seen growth over the last year?
Give thanks for it.
Where do you still need grace?
Bring it honestly to God.
Where are you comparing your journey with somebody else’s?
Release the comparison.
You are not called to manufacture spiritual maturity through sheer determination.
You are invited to remain close to Christ, receive grace, practise faithfulness and allow God to continue his work.
Growth may be slow.
It may include setbacks.
It may happen quietly enough that you barely notice.
But grace is patient.
Keep growing.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright © Crossway.
