Growth and Development

Concerning Growth and Development: I once heard a known speaker on TV say that if a gift is from God it comes full-grown and there is nothing for a person to grow in.   (1)  Scriptural precedent shows us that our Heavenly Father is willing to work with our humanness and allows us time to develop.   (2)  The scheme in Galatians shows us the process of a growing son and his father’s willingness to trust him after various stages of development (Gal.4).   (3)  The master in Jesus’ parable of Matt.25 trusted his servant at a much higher level after the servant proved himself capable at a much lower level.  (4)  In Lk 2:40, 52 Dr. Luke speaks of the growth and development of the Person we call Jesus.   (5)  Even the young prophet who ministered in a high-profile incident in 1Kings 13 needed to grow and develop before he was able to properly discern matters.   His immaturity and inability to discern properly was his loss and a lion’s gain (v.24).   (6)  The Hebrew writer encourages us to train our senses so that we may be able to discern (Heb 5:14).   (7)  Although Elisha had spent some period of time with the great prophet Elijah, his mentor informed him that there was a great deal more to come.

(This is an excerpt from Marty’s booklet “Now That I Have Begun to Prophesy”.)