Many so-called Christian leaders have made inadequate progress, having become content with their spiritual walk. In the same way, many believers have settled for immaturity as the norm. And many have lost the zeal for spiritual growth. Maybe they never had it.
After years of a successful ministry and a close relationship with God, the Apostle Paul said, “…Not that I claim to have achieved all this, nor to have reached perfection already. But I keep going on, trying to grasp the purpose for which Christ Jesus grasped me” (Philippians 3:12 Phillips).
There are continual and increasing strides for Christ-likeness in every healthy believer. Every Christian should be dissatisfied with living an ordinary existence. Instead, we should possess a deep desire to press on to know God and reflect His nature.
The truth is everyone has the potential for progress. God has not been partial, giving to one a special ability to progress, and to another the destiny of spiritual immaturity. There is within each one of us the potential ability for tremendous spiritual growth. Everyone has the right and ability to become a giant for God. We must recognize our potential for growth and progress.
The way we see ourselves in Christ sets the boundary for increase in our lives. Notice James 1:22-25:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
When we begin to see ourselves as God sees us, we unlock limitless ability in our lives. As we begin to truly believe that we are forgiven and pure in God’s sight, we realize that we are loved and accepted into the family of God.
We have become an heir of all God’s riches. We have been freed from the dominion of sin and death. This is the real “natural man” that we see in the mirror of God’s Word.
We cannot be like those who continue to look at what they are not, instead of what God says they are. We must not dwell on our lack and past failures instead of God’s ability to make our future successful. When God reveals the possibilities, we cannot be so cluttered with negativism and ungoverned emotions that we fail to grasp what He has planned for us. When we change the way we think about ourselves, we will begin to mold a new and positive future.
