3 Ways to Grow in Your Faith and Become More Like Jesus
Many families have a place somewhere in their home where they measure their kids as they grow. Maybe it's a wooden growth chart, a mark on a doorframe, or a line on the wall with a name and date beside it. Day to day, the change is almost impossible to see. But come back months later, put your child against the wall, and suddenly it's obvious. The mark has moved.
Wouldn't it be helpful if we had something similar for our spiritual lives? We could look back over the last year and see exactly how much we've grown. Spiritual growth is harder to measure, but Scripture does give us a clear direction. In Ephesians 4, Paul describes maturity as growing into "the fullness of Christ." The goal is that, over time, our lives increasingly look like Jesus.
The challenge is that time alone doesn't produce that kind of growth. We can attend church for years, hear hundreds of sermons, know the songs and Bible stories, and still remain spiritually immature. Growing older in our faith doesn't necessarily mean we're growing up in our faith.
Growth requires intentional steps.
1. Get in the Word
If our goal is to become more like Jesus, we need to know Jesus, and one of the primary ways we do that is through Scripture. Consistently spending time in God's Word helps us understand His character, recognize His voice, and learn how He wants us to live.
That doesn't mean you need to begin with an ambitious reading plan. Start somewhere manageable. Set aside ten minutes. Read a chapter. Begin with the Gospel of John. Find a consistent time and place where opening God's Word can become part of the rhythm of your life.
Spiritual growth is often too small to see today but too big to miss over time. You may not notice a dramatic difference after reading your Bible tomorrow morning, but consistent time in Scripture begins shaping the way you think, respond, trust God, and understand truth. Eventually, you look back and realize the mark moved.
2. Get With God
Prayer is another essential part of spiritual growth because intimacy with God doesn't develop by accident. Prayer gives us an opportunity to talk with God, listen, bring Him what's happening in our lives, and simply spend time with our Heavenly Father.
You don't have to be an expert at prayer before you begin. Spiritual maturity isn't about having everything figured out. Everyone starts somewhere, and growth happens as we continue taking steps toward Jesus.
Over time, those steps begin showing up in our lives. Maybe you don't respond to frustration the way you once did. A temptation doesn't have the same grip on you. You trust God differently during uncertainty or find yourself turning to Him more naturally when something happens. You haven't arrived, but you're growing.
3. Get With People
God never designed spiritual growth to happen in isolation. Ephesians 4 describes the church as a body in which every part contributes to the health and growth of the whole. We need people further along in their faith who can encourage us, challenge us, and help us follow Jesus.
Join a group. Take a class. Find someone who can disciple you. Start serving somewhere. Put yourself around other Christians who are intentionally pursuing Jesus.
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Those relationships matter because your growth eventually becomes about more than you. The Scripture you're learning may help someone who comes to you looking for truth. The prayer life you're developing may prepare you to pray with someone during a difficult moment. The wisdom God is developing in you may eventually be exactly what someone else needs.
What God is developing in you today may be exactly what He wants to work through you tomorrow.
You don't need to change your entire life today. Choose a step and move the mark. Open your Bible. Spend time with God. Get around people who will help you grow.
Then keep going. A year from now, you may know Jesus more deeply, trust Him more, forgive more quickly, understand His Word better, and serve His church differently. You won't have arrived, but you'll be able to look back and see that you're becoming a little less like who you used to be and a little more like Jesus.