When I lived in Stillwater, OK, I was a youth pastor. During the summer, I was typically gone fifty percent of the time on trips to camps, mission work, or road trips with teens. But one summer, I decided to grow watermelon. I love watermelon, especially when it’s ice cold from the fridge.
I planted the seeds and in no time, small green sprouts came up. My vines were on their way to maturity. But then summer hit and I was gone half the time. I had failed to get anyone to water my vines or give any TLC. By the end of summer, I had zero watermelons and shriveled up vines. It was a sad day.
Paul says in Colossians 2 that we are to “let our roots grow down into him and let our lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth we were taught and we will overflow with thankfulness.”
If you’re following Jesus, you want to grow into maturity to look like him which means you have to create habits that allow you to be watered and receive the TLC needed to grow into the likeness of Christ. Make today the day you commit to reading the Bible every day. There are lots of ways to do that. The YouVersion app is one easy way. The app has all versions of the Bible ever printed and it has many study guides that vary in length.
Start today creating a prayerful life. Just start talking to God and revealing your heart. You don’t have to “know” how to pray. It’s just a conversation with God about life, direction, gaining wisdom and how to follow.
Determine today you are going to allow yourself to become someone who has a servant lifestyle. There are lots of ways to create a path with others to be service minded. Look into any number of ministries at the church you attend. What brings you joy? What makes you happy? Talk to your pastor about ways to plug in and get going. You could also check your city’s website under the “non-profit” tab. That would open up lots of opportunities to find ways to serve other people.
Make time to write down your faith story so you know it and can share it in a 3-5 minute opportunity. It’s important that you know how and why you came to follow Jesus. Getting to know your story is important because you need to tell your children and grandchildren how important that decision was for you and the life change it could bring for them.
If you are going to grow, then you have to create a well-worn pathway to Jesus and a community of believers. Growing like Jesus will be empowered by the Holy Spirit but it will not happen in a vacuum. You have to determine to create habits that will allow you to be watered and tended by the greatest gardener of all time: Jesus Christ.
Blessings on your journey!