Why We Don't Grow

The researcher, George Barna, constantly reminds us that there is little difference in the behavior patterns between Christians and non-Christians in America.  People come to Christ but their lives never change. Paul tells us in the book of Colossians that we have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son. The problem is that too many Christians are still living like they are in darkness.

As I was reflecting on these statistics, it occurred to me that one of the reasons that this is true is an over emphasis on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Don't get me wrong, I believe that each of us must come to Christ personally, but when we are in Christ we become members of His body.  That is as believers we belong to each other.

However, too many Christians try to live the Christian life on their own.  They join churches and have fellowships, attend worship services and even belong to small groups.  But, we rarely allow anyone close enough to us to help us grow.  The Bible calls us to spur one another to love and good works but most of will not let anyone know where we need the spur.  We encourage one another, but we do so with shot gun blasts not pinpoint accuracy.  Everyone once in awhile something hits us in the right place but it is not always enough to make a difference.

Life transformation happens when God takes the word of God and impresses it in our lives.  But this needs to happen in the context of relationships.  We need to have relationships in the body of Christ, that are real. We need relationships where we can be honest about our spiritual struggles, so that we can have brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for us and encourage us in our specific needs so that we can grow in Christ.  Do you have those relationships.  Think about it.