Taken from the Christian Basics Bible
“Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.”
2 Peter 3:18, NLT
The birth of a baby always brings excitement to a family, but how worried that family would be if the baby always stayed a baby! After all, babies are born for one thing: to grow up. And that’s exactly how it is when we become Christians. God does not want us to stay spiritual babies; he wants us to grow up, in both our knowledge and experience, as Peter encourages in 2 Peter 3:18.
Acts 2:42 lists four key practices that helped the first Christians to grow: “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.”
We can follow their example, first, by studying the Bible—for if we do not read it, how can we know what God is like and what he wants?—second, by sharing fellowship with other Christians to encourage one another; third, by sharing the Lord’s Supper together to remind us of Christ’s sacrifice and to keep him central in our lives; and fourth, by praying—talking to God—both alone and with others. Note that these four things weren’t occasional occurrences; rather, the first Christians devoted themselves to them. Doing the same today will help us grow and mature, not just intellectually, but in a living experience of God’s grace.
