I prepared this insightful and very important topic for a retreat on how to grow towards fruitfulness in spiritual life. I cannot say that I am perfect but all I can say is that I have given my life to Christ so that He can help me and His Holy Spirit can work on me to make me perfect and fruitful. I hope and I sincerely believe that this discussion will help you grow.
Coming from life-sciences background is kind of a good thing because it helps me look at different aspects in the Bible with a new insight and a different angle and I have found it extremely helpful in understanding the mysteries of His Kingdom and at the same time in helping others understand the same. As we begin this discussion, let me first start with a simple question.What are the clear distinct life-stages of living things and non-living things?
Anyone can just observe the things around them and say that for a living being the life-stages would be: Birth, Maturity and Death and as far as non-living beings are concerned they remain static. The process that leads from birth to maturity is what we call ‘growth’ and from maturity to death we observe the phenomenon called ‘degeneration’.
Let us now turn to Spiritual life. Do you think that spiritual life is very similar or is it very different? Well, my answer is ‘both’. In spiritual life also, like biological life, we have these three stages but unlike biological life, spiritual life appears to have a different sequence of the three life-stages. If we read Ephesians 2:1, the Bible says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins” and further the Bible says in Ephesians 2:4-5, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive...” In a similar fashion, Jesus says in John 3:3-7, “...I tell you the truth; no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again... Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’”. Going still further, we see in 1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” and furthermore, Ephesians 4:14-15, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”
So, through all this we see that initially we are in the stage of spiritual death. By accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour and by accepting and acknowledging the forgiveness and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our deadened spirit regenerates and we become born again. This born again spiritual being is like a newborn baby and it grows to maturity. However, being born again is being born to eternal life, so there is no further spiritual death. Therefore, the spiritual life-stages are: Dead stage, Born again and Maturity. As we saw, being born again we have to grow. Growth is necessary and the only way forward.
This brings me to an illustration. Take a handful of gram seeds and soak it in water. What do you observe? Initially, you will observe two kinds of seeds: one that would have sprouted and the other that wouldn’t have sprouted. Just leave the seeds that way for a day more. Now what do you observe? You will notice three kinds of seeds now: first, one that had sprouted and that is growing; second, one that had sprouted but is not growing and the third is the one that had not sprouted in the first place. In the case of the seeds, the first category will grow, mature and bear more fruit, whereas, the second and the third category will eventually rot. Thank God that He loves us so much and we are much more than seeds. Amongst human beings too, we can find three categories of people as the seeds: one, those who have accepted Christ and are growing; two, those who have accepted Christ but are not growing and three, those who have not yet accepted Christ. Yet, God does not leave the second and third category of people to rot but He is still pursuing you with His unending love and incomparable mercy to forgive you and give you eternal life. Dear friend, if you have not yet received Christ in your life, take a decision today. The Word of God says in Hebrews 3:7-8, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...” Christianity is not a religion as many may believe; it is a lifestyle and a relation with a living God who hears when we call, who has given us the right to call him ‘Abba father’ and who loves us like a father. Isn’t it amazing!
