Today's my Birthday: 2012

Written in July 2012:

This year I turn 61 and 38…physical birth, spiritual birth.(1) 

And I can't help but reflect on the similarities in my physical and spiritual growth processes:

As a baby Christian God "wiped my nose and hand-fed me." Things were pretty easy. 

In the early years His Word was my caretaker and every lesson was an exciting new discovery. 

Awkward growth spurts followed when I became a spiritual adolescent. 

Then I spent far too long in the know-it-all stage of my teen years. 

Eventually God began to trust me with the responsibilities and hardships of spiritual adulthood. Sometimes I made Him proud, sometimes I staggered from the pain and sank into self-pity, and often I longed for the easier years of spiritual childhood. 

But babies can’t experience God’s fullness. We learn and grow through adult responsibilities and adult difficulties.

Today, as I turn 61 and 38, please ask God to help me keep growing. And this is my prayer for you too!

Let's grow up in our faith!

1 Peter 2:2-3:
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Hebrews 5:11-14:
There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

(1) My spiritual birthday is actually a few months prior to my physical birthday