We Spiritually Grow
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5-8
The verses above represent spiritual growth, which is a process to the day we leave this earth. We are constantly becoming more like Christ in faith, knowledge, Godliness, self-control, affection, and a heart of love. (Philippians 2:13) The Lord is the one who changes us; and we pray the Lord changes us to overcome any sinful habits, so we become more like Christ.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31) This is the greatest command because a heart of love covers all the aspects of spiritual growth, because God is love. If we follow the Spirit bringing people to Christ, God fills our hearts with his divine love, and that is what makes us more Christ-like.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16) Spiritual growth comes by living by the Spirit and overcoming the sinful desires of the flesh. When we live by the Spirit our minds rewire to the ways of God, and the ways of the world slowly unwire and disappear. We change our thinking from the ways of the world to the ways of God, and our minds rewire, and we think the way God intends.
Christians love everyone on the planet, including our enemies because they have been deceived by Satan. There is no room in our hearts for hatred of people; we only have hatred of sin. We cannot spiritually grow if we hate sinful people, because the love in our hearts becomes conditional.
Today know you are spiritually growing and becoming more like Christ. And the love in your hearts is continually increasing for all people.
Prayer: Father, help me to spiritually grow closer to Christ, and fill my heart with your unconditional love. In Jesus name, Amen