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Oct 08, 2024 06:00am

Nurturing Growth

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We planted some trees at the edge of our property where clearing had been done years ago. They were healthy trees but still needed care to grow and thrive. Since it’s quite a ways from our home, someone has to physically return to where the trees are planted and water them. Without care and nurturing, they would die out, weeds would overtake them and choke them out, and their growth would cease.

They need continual care in their early stages of growth as they work to be established and for their roots to run deep.

Acts 14:21-23

“They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch,
22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”

Paul and Barnabas were missionaries. They were determined to share the truth about Jesus and how to follow after Him. They had already been to these areas once, and yet they returned to them.

Why?

Didn’t they already know about Jesus? Hadn’t they already shared the gospel there?

The church there was young and healthy, but it still needed nurturing.

Paul and Barnabas returned to these places for 4 reasons:

Strengthening
Encouragement
Appointing leaders
Prayer and fasting

Trials were going to come. That was clear. But how would they withstand these trials? Especially if Paul and Barnabas weren’t here!

They knew the importance of these things in the early growth and development of the church. These young Christians were still learning and building a foundation on which they would stand. And Paul and Barnabas were instrumental in that building process. They knew it wasn’t just about making converts. That would be like burying those trees out there and leaving them to fend for themselves.

It required more.

It required discipleship.

Just like we do today.

Yes, being saved is a wonderful thing. But how will you grow? Far too many Christians have been converted and then left out on their own to survive.

But if you had someone watering you regularly, helping you grow, you would thrive!

I was one of those people.

I was saved but had yet to learn about what it looked like to follow Jesus. I thought it was just a list of dos and don’ts. I never knew about the nourishing relationship and fruits that could come from following Christ. Left alone, I had no foundation on which to stand. I had nothing to grasp when trials came my way, when the enemy tempted and lured me away, or when I was questioned about what I believed.

I needed a Paul and a Barnabas.

I needed a local church that cared about my growth and helped me thrive.

Let me help you.

Go to follow.lifeword.org. You can learn who Jesus is, what He’s done for us, and what it looks like to be a truly devoted follower of Christ. It’s not about a list of dos and don’ts. It’s about a relationship. It’s about building a foundation that can withstand the strongest storms because Jesus is the cornerstone.

Let me help you grow.