“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed
back and forth by the waves, and blown
here and there by every wind of teaching…” |
| —Ephesians 4:14-15 |
Please let me share an event from my distant past:
Many years ago in a science class, to illustrate the need for stability in order for growth to take place, our teacher placed a young plant in a transparent pot of soil and placed the pot on a constantly vibrating platform. She then placed a similar young plant in another transparent pot of soil and placed this pot on a stable, level desktop.
Over the next few weeks, she pointed out that the plant, attempting to grow while under the influence of constant vibration, had a difficult time putting down roots. In contrast, the plant, growing on the stability of the desktop, nearly tripled the root growth in the same period of time.
This phenomenon is true of our spiritual lives, as well. We need stability in order to put our spiritual roots deep into the soil of God’s written Word, as we are nourished by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul put it this way, as recorded in Ephesians 4:14-15:
Stability is something for which we can justifiably pray and also something for which we can seek to find in our own lives. It starts with daily Bible reading and prayer. It continues when we join the fellowship of a Bible-believing church where the relationships we form with other spiritually healthy believers can nourish our own spiritual growth and development—our Christian Spiritual Formation.
Let us determine this day to seek stability for our spiritual lives. Let us also do our best to provide that stability for those with whom we come into contact. We do well to heed the Apostle Paul’s words.
