Growing more like my Father
How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver! The path of the virtuous leads away from evil; whoever follows that path is safe. Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Proverbs 16:16-18
As a father of three, I realized how much I learned about my personal relationship with God as I taught my children even with the simple things they needed to know growing up. At every stage of growing up, there were many valuable principles I came to learn that I have never imagined. This is what God does to His children. He lets you grow gaining wisdom from the things you learn growing up. There is a saying that “God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay that way.” No believer could claim that they have “arrived.” You should be ready for what God wants to teach you. God will use lessons learned from His Word, from friends, from fellow believers, from church you belong, or from family. When you are honest about your inabilities, you can ask God to provide you. All He asks of you is to pray to Him about your need. James says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). Every follower of Christ needs to be developing themselves to be more like Christ. This is not about learning new skills but more about your identity. God is interested in developing His character in you. It is more about being than doing. Every follower of Christ is called to be in this world that will exemplify Christlikeness. This type of learning could only come if you are humble enough to listen and obey God’s leading. Yet, just like young children, pride gets in the way of learning. How many times a child will say to their father even if they are not still capable to do a simple thing by themselves this; “I can do this myself?” Maybe you have not said this out loud, yet in your heart there is a lack of dependence on God. Then, He lets you fall flat in your face so you could learn to once again ask and trust Him so you will come to understand that He knows better. Once you grow in total dependence on God, you will start to see how He manifest His life through you. Pride within will always say, “God, I do not need you,” but humble and willing heart will always say, “God, I am desperate for you.” Are you developing yourself to be more and more like your Father in heaven?
Blessings,
