2 Peter 3:18

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen

At church one night, my six year old cousin came up to me exclaimed about his new tooth. He was very excited to show it off. For him it was a sign of growth and maturing, and of course it did not hurt that he knew the tooth fairy would be visiting him soon. However, the growing of a tooth, while exciting, can also be a bit difficult for a young child. Sometimes it is uncomfortable or even hurts. The entire process seems odd, the idea of being able to wiggle a tooth. Yet it is a part of the natural process of growing up. It is necessary for the tooth to fall out so that the new and improved one may grow in.

This process is not that far removed from our own spiritual growth. Peter tells us that we need to grow in our grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. To do this may cause discomfort of even pain in our lives. It seems odd that God would ask us to do the things that he does. We do not understand our need for change. We are comfortable the way it is, and we do not like the discomfort of becoming the new man that God desires us to be. Yet it is important that we do so because it is necessary for us to remove old parts of our life to make room for the new and improved man that God expects us to be.

However, we need not view this as a negative process. Change, while at times uncomfortable, can be an important marker for us. My cousin was exhilarated about his new tooth because it  should  his maturing and it came with rewards. While our removing of old ways from our life may be painful or difficult, we can also find that there are ways to take joy in. We can rejoice that the awkwardness is a precursor to greater things. We can look forward to the spiritual rewards that growing up in Christ brings. And we can use it as a guidepost. We can be excited to see that we are indeed growing up in the Lord. After all, that is what we should be desiring, so it should bring us great joy to see that we are meeting our desire.

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen