Life as a Christian still includes growing in various areas of our lives, not just in the spiritual. This truth is modeled by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: according to Luke 2:51-52, “Then [Jesus] went down with [His earthly parents] and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.”
Based on this passage, there are five areas in our lives that need to be built. Let’s go over them and see what they are.
1. Obedience
“And [Jesus] was subject to them,” goes verse 51. Apparently, we are to learn to be people who know what obedience is.
The Lord Jesus Himself, though He was God, became “subject” to His earthly parents Mary and Joseph. His obedience to them was in direct obedience to God the Father, who commanded that we should “honour [our] mother and father” (see Exodus 20:12), a command that includes everybody regardless of age. We’re all children of our parents, right?
On a grander scale, we should learn to be obedient to our Heavenly Father, God, because we are His children if we are indeed in Christ.
2. Wisdom
“…in wisdom.” We should desire to increase in knowledge and wisdom, and this only happens when we begin to fear the Lord. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” says Proverbs 9:10. We should desire to grow in the knowledge of God’s Word so that we will know what He wants us to do every time.
3. Stature
“…stature…” The Bible tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 6:19). Because of this, we should take care of our health, desire to build better physical capacities through exercise and proper nutrition, as well as avoid unhealthy things such as drugs and alcohol.
Overworking and oversleeping are no-no’s as well. We should take care of our bodies – because we use it to serve the Lord.
4. Favour with God
“…in favor with God…” We should desire to grow in our relationship with God as His beloved children. Spending good quality time with the Lord in Bible reading, worship and prayer are important disciplines for us to have in our personal lives.
5. Favour with men
“…and men.” This doesn’t mean being famous or becoming a people-pleaser. Rather, it’s about having a good standing with men as God’s people (see Acts 6:3 for example). Remember, if we aim to please men we would not be pleasing God (see James 4:4). Rather, we love God first, and love the people He loves next.
