3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
The central process in the Jesus-follower’s life is growth. If we are not growing we are dead. When a plant stops growing during the season for growth the plant itself dies. Think about it, the sap that creates growth also brings nutrients that feed all the cells of the plant. If the sap stops flowing, the plant is dying, unless of course it is not the season for growth. But even in the dormant season, the plant is growing in non-visible ways. The roots still gather nutrients to be distributed throughout the plant during the growth season. As believers we must continue to grow or we are in the process of dying. Growth is essential for continued life. Keeping the brain and body active in older life helps extend mental and physical capacities. When people stop challenging themselves, they tend to lose even what they have physically and mentally. As believers we must grow with a purpose. Random growth looks like disease. Growth with purpose looks like fruit. When people get “growth for growth sake” we call it cancer. Churches that go through growth spurts struggle with the long-term preservation of that growth. I spent my high school years in the fruit region of Pennsylvania. After fruit season the workers would come and butcher the trees, cutting them back to stubbles of branches. I always wondered why they did that, until I understood the process. The tree if left to its own devices would produce branches and leaves rather than fruit. All it energies would look beautifully green, but it would fall short of fulfilling it design. But when the pruning is done, the tree concentrates all its energies on one year growth, the growth that produces fruit. Another reason to prune is to protect the tree. If the branches are too long, the fruit weighs down the branches making them more susceptible to breaking. The same is true in a church body. Unless considerable effort is made to concentrate the strengthening of the central part of the body the branches grow too long, don’t produce enough fruit, and are easily broken off during a storm. Church splits happen because the love between members is not growing. Church plants happen when fruit has matured and placed strategically to facilitate future growth. Are you growing? Is it fruit or the growths of spiritual cancer?
The Arnold Journey 