The Goal of Spiritual Growth

The Goal of Spiritual Growth

The goal of spiritual growth
What do you think is the goal of spiritual growth? Is it mastering spiritual practices? Or something much simpler? Your answer to this question tells the health of your spiritual life. Sometimes we do get carried away with our own plans. Hopefully this post can remind you of what matters most and direct you back to the very center of Christian faith.

No matter how well we fast, how spiritually mature we are…it’s still God alone who saves. God alone who transforms. God alone. Not our spiritual practices. Not our good works. Not our great aspirations.

Hence the goal of spiritual growth should not be mastering spiritual practices or bettering ourselves but becoming more and more aware that it is all God. From the beginning to the end. And when we have grasped this, our goal of spiritual growth is to trust God more and more.

Spiritual wisdom comes from leaning on God.
Spiritual growth comes from giving up self-help.
Spiritual maturity comes from relying on the hidden wisdom of the cross.

For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18, AMP,*)

The very center of Christian faith is the cross. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of you and me. Because God resurrected Jesus on the third day, we can be forgiven. Because of the cross, we can be united with God. Because of the cross, we don’t have to earn our salvation.

Because of the cross, the goal of spiritual growth is not mastering spiritual practices but trusting God more fully. Even that happens by the grace of God. Thanks be to God!

 

Gracious God,
We love you and we adore you.
You are alpha and omega.
You are everything.
Thank you for sending Jesus to the cross for our sins.
Forgive our sins!
Pour out grace upon grace!
Empower us to rely only upon you.
Enable us to trust you more fully.
Be praised forever more!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: What is the goal of spiritual growth for you?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you trust God more fully!

* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses to Biblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.]

I always appreciate if you help sharing the blog posts with your friends & followers. So that everyone might know the love of God, receive the grace of Christ, and live in the presence of the Holy Spirit! Thank you! BLESSINGS!

Image courtesy of Brandon Johnson, design Mari-Anna Stålnacke. This post is refurbished from 2010. Linking up today with Sharing His Beauty, Hear it on Sunday, use it on Monday, Playdates with God, and counting blessings with Ann Voskamp:  #1101 Spiritual growth is all about trusting God more fully.

6 thoughts on “The Goal of Spiritual Growth

  1. I’ll add more “yes’s” too! It’s so refreshing to come here and always find the truth that points to our dependence upon God as our goal, not dependence on our own spiritual practices (even though those are good). He alone saves. Thanks, Mari-Anna.

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