Grow in Grace /长大成人

[Dexu Xia]

He’s Got This

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  2 Peter 3:18

Pastor Watson Jones remembers learning to ride a bike. His father was walking alongside when little Watson saw some girls sitting on a porch. “Daddy, I got this!” he said. He didn’t. He realized too late he hadn’t learned to balance without his father’s steadying grip. He wasn’t as grown up as he thought.

Our heavenly Father longs for us to grow up and “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). But spiritual maturity is different from natural maturity. Parents raise their children to become independent, to no longer need them. Our divine Father raises us to daily depend on Him more.

Peter begins his letter by promising “grace and peace . . . through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,” and he ends by urging us to “grow in” that same “grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18). Mature Christians never outgrow their need for Jesus.

Watson warns, “Some of us are busy slapping Jesus’s hands off the handlebars of our life.” As if we didn’t need His strong hands to hold us, to pick us up, and to hug us when we wobble and flop. We can’t grow beyond our dependence on Christ. We only grow by sinking our roots deeper in the grace and knowledge of Him.

Where do you feel your dependence on Jesus? How is that a sign of maturity?

Jesus, thank You for walking alongside me as I grow in my relationship with You.

长大成人

你们却要在我们主救主耶稣基督的恩典和知识上有长进。-彼得后书3章18节

有一位牧师回忆他幼年学骑脚踏车时，父亲常常走在他身旁，扶着脚踏车。但一次他看见几个女孩子坐在门廊上，就逞强说：“爸爸，我会骑了，不需要扶我了！”结果他因为没有父亲的扶持而失去平衡，跌得鼻青脸肿。他以为自己长大了，不需要父亲的帮助，其实不然。

我们的天父期盼我们“得以长大成人，满有基督长成的身量”（以弗所书4章13节），但灵命成长与生理成长截然不同。父母养大子女希望他们能独立，无需再依赖父母的照顾；但天父上帝养育我们，却要我们每天更加倚靠祂。

彼得后书一开始就说：“愿恩惠、平安因你们认识上帝和我们主耶稣，多多地加给你们！”到了结尾，彼得仍劝勉众人：“要在我们主救主耶稣基督的恩典和知识上有长进”（1章2节，3章18节）。显然，成熟的基督徒绝不会因有所长进而不需要耶稣。

这位牧师也提醒我们：“有些人忙着甩开耶稣的手，不要祂去碰我们生命的控制杆。”这就像我们在软弱失败时，仿佛不需要祂强壮的双手扶持，也不需要祂的安慰一样。然而，我们唯有倚靠基督才能成长，只有在祂的恩典和知识上扎根才能有长进。

主耶稣，感谢祢在我身旁，与我同行，
使我能与祢的关系愈发亲密。

你在哪方面特别需要倚靠主耶稣？
这如何成为生命成长的标记呢？