In our lives as Christians, we need to gauge ourselves if we are really growing in the faith. And just like how our physical body's growth is measured by our height, weight, and physical fitness, our growth in the Spirit can also be measured – by the level of obedience we have towards God and His commandments.
Obedience as a gauge
Today, there are many Christians who think they've grown in the faith because they've been Christian for a long time and haven't quit the faith. There are those who think that by being involved in many church activities, they have grown to be mature believers. There are also those who think that by reading the whole Bible and perhaps memorizing a huge chunk of it, they've grown mature. Well, maybe not.
All three things that I mentioned are good and commendable, but they aren't the ultimate gauge of Christian maturity. Obedience to God's Word is still the foremost key to evaluating our growth in the Lord. Consider what the Lord Jesus said,
"If a man loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words. The word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me." (see John 14:23-24 MEV)
We who profess to be Christian ought to know that we should be doing what Christ said, not just hearing it. Our love for Him is made evident by our obedience to what He said.
Why obedience?
But perhaps, some would ask why obedience would be the gauge I consider to be accurate. For one, while it's right to consider knowing the Word of God to be very instrumental to growth, the Bible itself says hearing the Word isn't enough:
"Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." (James 1:22)
Even the Lord Jesus said it Himself:
"Whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock ... And every one who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them will be likened to a foolish man who built his house on the sand..." (Matthew 7:24, 26)
Growth into the Head
Friends, our obedience is key to our growth. As we obey Christ, we grow more to be like Him. That's the main point of Christian maturity and growth: to be like Him.
"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." (Ephesians 4:15 ESV)
Let us pursue Christ-likeness. Let us do that by obedience.
