Growing up on the inside, forever
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Babies grow up so fast, don't they? I always encouraged newer parents to cherish every moment and every phase because it all passes so quickly.
Physical growth happens on a curve. We grow fast, reach adulthood, and then stop growing taller. We'll keep producing new cells as long as we're alive, but we'll never get bigger.
Spiritual growth, on the other hand, begins during this life on earth and continues onward into eternity. You can keep growing up on the inside forever and ever.
The Apostle Paul put it this way:
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.—2 Corinthians 4:16
Our "outward nature" has a limited life cycle. My grandmother lived to be just a few days shy of 103 years old, and we think that's a lot of years.
Our "inner nature," on the other hand, keeps being renewed day after day regardless of how old our bodies get to be.
We've invented a million anti-aging products in an attempt to preserve our physical lives longer. What if we took seriously the idea that who we are becoming is an eternal matter? That here and now is just the warm-up for what is to come in our existence beyond death.
When you realize that your spiritual growth can be an ongoing, never-ending process of renewal and development, each new day matters as much as the last. It matters what we read, who we love, how we respond to the needs of others, and how we pray. Because it all contributes to who we are becoming.
It's so easy to coast through life—especially when we're through the part commonly thought of as the "first half," but in reality, we never stop learning, changing, and growing. And that makes eternity even more exciting!
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