subject: Essay on Spiritual Growth: A Lifetime Process [print this page] Essay on Spiritual Growth: A Lifetime Process
Sample Essay
Words 2,768
Spiritual growth is a lifetime process of displaying the acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) less and less and creating the bounty of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) to a greater extent. It is the Holy Spirit who produces the fruit in us. We must surrender ourselves to the Spirit's leading, but it is the Spirit who produces the fruit of spiritual growth in our lives. According to Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." If one becomes more caring, more carefree, kinder, more moderate, etc., then one can be certain that spiritual growth is genuinely occurring in the individual's life.
God works in different people in different ways. Some people grow quickly, while others grow gradually, but progressively. One's focus should not be on contrast oneself with others, but on comparing oneself with God's Word. The Scriptures are the mirror to show us what we are like spiritually and to shine light on the areas that need to experience and learn spiritual growth. James 1:23-25 declares,
"Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does."
