Green and Growing

2 Peter 1: 5-9 “In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.”

I heard this statement the other day.  “You are either green and growing or you are ripe and rotting.” A challenging way to look at our lives to push ourselves to grow. My daughter plays for her high school tennis team and I recently signed her up at a new tennis club for lessons. It was an eye opening experience for her, these kids played at a much higher level that any of the girls in her area. It was fun to watch as she started to raise the level of her game. My daughter has a desire to improve her game, a desire to grow to the next level. Now that she has seen a new level of play she is desiring more than ever to reach that goal. It will be fun to watch her progress over the winter. She has an instructor with a passion for the game and a love to teach. She has kids playing along side of her that also want to improve and to grow in their ability, knowledge and skill. Next fall when tennis season rolls around my daughters tennis game will be at a higher level and she will be more productive and useful to her team. I also know she will enjoy the game more knowing she is striving to be the best she can be.

Paul said in Philippians 3:12 “I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this on thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.”  This is my goal, my resolution, for the New Year. To keep working and to keep growing to develop my faith and knowledge of our Lord. So that I will be more productive and useful in the lives of the people around me.

I will do this by studying God’s word, by listening to the instruction of Godly teachers and by working along side other Godly men and women. People that will raise the level of my game. Remember we are: “Either green and growing or ripe and rotting.”

I pray you will have a joyful New Year knowing you are striving to be the best you can be.