Regular Joe's

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.  1 Peter 3:18

We have a wall in our house with lines and numbers on it.  The lines and numbers represent dates, ages and heights of our kids.  The wall is a chronicle of their growth.  Looking at it tells me that my son has grown almost 3 inches this past year.  When our kids were little measured them  and the very next day they would com back to get re-measured.  They were so dissapointed that they did not grow over night.  Growing is such a  big deal for kids, they so want to be big.

Here is an observation;  What someone grows in or toward determines the quality of their growth. For example, if someone grows in kindness, good.  If someone grows in their anger, bad.  If someone grows wiser, life gets better.  If someone grows bitter, life narrows drastically.   If someone grows their faith, then God’s leading is an adventure. If someone grows their doubt, God’s leading becomes fear ridden and uncertain.

Here’s another observation:  Whomever it is that feeds your growth, shapes your destiny. We know this in both positive and negative ways.  I see thinking in my kids that most definitely came from me.  Some makes me smile and some makes me cringe.  As a dad I feed the growth of my kids and in doing so I shape their destiny.  If I feed criticism, I shape them into becoming critical.  If I feed service and humility to my kids, I shape them into caring people.

The verse above was written by Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends.  From the moment he met Jesus he began to GROW.  Jesus invited him to follow and for three plus years, Jesus fed into the growth of Peter.  When Peter met Jesus he was a burley rough and tumble fisherman.  His words and actions were impulsive.  Peter needed to grow and his friendship with Jesus provided that growth.  Want to know what Jesus fed into Peter’s growth?  Look again at the verse.

Grow in the GRACE and in KNOWLEDGE of Jesus. The growth that  marked Peter’s life was a growth in the Grace of God and growth in the knowledge of Christ. Grace is a word that means gift.  It is an over the top kind of gift, way beyond the scope of what you deserve.  To grow in grace is to expand your understanding and impact of God’s grace in our lives.  God’s grace, the bible says, teaches us how to live.   God’s grace treats us as though we are who we are suppose to be, even when were not.   In doing so, it shows us how were supposed to act, even when we don’t.  And when we don’t act as we should, God’s grace treats us as if we do.

Peter grew in God’s grace by living in it and by growing in his knowledge of Christ.  In reality, if I do not grow in my knowledge of Christ, I cannot grow in grace.  Peters instruction is not to know more about Christ, rather it is to know Christ better.  For Peter this happened as he and Jesus lived together.  Here is how I am choosing to live with Jesus in 2010.  In 2010 I am reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John between 6 times.  In doing so, I am getting to know Jesus better and growing in His grace.

Random Act of Kindness:  Send a text, e-mail or a card to someone and share favorite verse from the bible.