Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.
Now, most of us have reached a place where our stature is what it is. We’re as tall as we’re going to get, in fact, some of us have reached the place where it’s starting to go the other way. At some point, we just can’t grow any taller. So let’s take stature out of the equation for a minute.
Jesus grew in wisdom and in favour with God and men.
Those are three pretty good target growth areas; wisdom, favour with God, favour with men.
Jesus grew in wisdom. He always made the wise choice and frequently quoted biblical passages as explanations for His behaviour. He didn’t quote Scripture in some rote, mechanical sort of way, He actually understood how to apply to his own life verses that had been written hundreds of years before His birth.
Jesus grew in His ability to see the true nature of things from God’s perspective. His actions were informed by a deep understanding of His heavenly Father’s nature and desire. Maybe you could stand to grow in wisdom, too – not just your Bible knowledge, but your ability to see things from God’s perspective and act accordingly.
Jesus grew in favour with God. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Heb 11.6) Just after Jesus was baptised, God said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Mt 3.17) We can infer from reading these verses in tandem that Jesus must have had faith. Growing in faith is linked to growing in favour with God.
But how does one grow in faith? Well, there are several different methods. You can read books or articles on it, or dare I say things like this, and see how faithful God has been over the centuries. You can get together with a group of other people and ask them for stories about how God has been faithful to them. Or – and this is possibly the best bet – you can test Him out and see what happens. What happens when you follow His advice for living? What happens when you follow His advice for marriage? What happens when you follow His advice for money-management?
Jesus grew in faith because He learned just how faithful His heavenly Father could be if Jesus totally trusted Him and followed His will. Maybe you could stand to grow in favour with God, too – not just in your level of obedience, but also in your level of trust in the God who knows how things are supposed to operate
Finally, Jesus grew in favour with others. He followed the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." He honoured others, treating them with dignity when others did not. He touched lepers. He taught women. He hung out with hookers and taxmen. He answered their questions and went to their parties.
Jesus was the most righteous human being who ever lived, but He had not a trace of self-righteousness about Him. He was approachable in a way that His followers have not imitated often enough. The most important person to Jesus seemed to be the person who was right in front of Him. For many of us, the person right in front of us is just in our way.
Jesus treated others with love, kindness and respect. He redefined the Golden Rule so that now we are called to treat others the way He has treated us. Maybe you could stand to grow in favour with others, too – not just treating people well to get something in return from them, but treating others the way Jesus has treated you
Prayer
Dear Lord, just as Jesus is Your beloved Son with whom You are well-pleased, so I also want to be pleasing to You as Your beloved child. May I pursue the wisdom of treasuring relationships above all other goods, and may I put You uniquely above all relationships. It is as I love You more than others that I will be empowered to love them more. May I learn to know You better through meditation on Your Word and through the actions of trusting obedience. May I learn to acknowledge You in all things and to welcome You into my thoughts , decisions and actions throughout the day. And may I learn to be an other-centered person who expresses the fullness of life in Christ in the way I treat people with kindness and concern. Empower me to edify, encourage and exhort others to enjoy a closer relationship with You.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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