n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 4
according to an order and time frame established from creation by the Lord –
like a bud that opens into a flower.
And how do things happen when it comes to spiritual growth, rebirth, or
regeneration – that is, shifts in the things that we love and care about most:
• Like the maturing of thoughts and feelings and attitudes
• Changes in patterns and habits of life
• The strengthening of friendships, commitment and love
Do these things move and develop quickly – with the speed of a Concorde
jet, or e-mails zipping
around the globe? Or is
spiritual growth more like
the growth of a human
body, or the growth of a
tree – slow and gradual,
seasonal and majestic?
The Lord’s Word seems
to answer this question
both in its overall story line
and in the direct teachings
it gives to us. Think of the
Lord’s Word as the story of our spiritual life from start to finish, then think of
the number of years the Word spans. Think of the number of stories it contains
– each one picturing a different piece of human growth and development.
Think of the infinite number of thoughts and feelings and shifts in human
states of mind that are represented in the people of the Word, each one of them
descriptive of part of your life experience.
And here’s a question: Do you ever wish that your own spiritual rebirth
could happen faster than it does?
So easily we read or learn something new from the Lord’s Word. We learn,
for example, of the peace and happiness and integrity of angels in heaven. We
learn about the way that relationships truly can be. We love these things that
we learn about, and at times might wish that we could “be” all of those things
all at once.
But the Lord tells us very carefully what the reality is, and what we can
expect in terms of human growth and development. In Exodus 23 He forecasts
to the Children of Israel what it will be like for them to enter into the land
of Canaan and to receive it as an inheritance from Him. Their entrance into
this land and their inheritance of it symbolically pictures our entrance into
heavenly states of heart, mind and life.
Well, if this is true, then what do you think it means when the Lord said
What the Lord is telling us
in Exodus 23 is that spiritual
growth and rebirth, and also the
growth of human relationships,
are slow… and gradual … and
seasonal … and majestic.
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