Growing in Faith

 

  Our house has a designated wall with coveted marks running up and down. It is the wall used to measure my children's height as they grow. I always enjoyed the look on my kids' faces when I would say, "You grew!" Quickly they would turn around, their eyes eager to see the answer. Then at some point, it would happen. Their height would plateau, and I would have to announce, "Nope, still the same." Eventually, we would accept they had reached adult height.

  I worry that people may also have this same approach to their faith. My kids and I have noticed their classmates were brought to church and religious education classes until Confirmation. I'm not really sure what happens, but it almost appears that either the parent or teen determines they have reached that adult height of faith. I wonder if it's alright to allow one's faith to plateau nearly the same time as their height?

 Fortunately, God has a different plan in mind. He never puts a cap on our faith life. He provides grace upon grace, nurturing our faith to grow deeper and more encompassing. Although God is incredibly generous, He does expect us to do our part. Faith is a gift, but it is also a mystery. It's beyond our understanding yet within our reach. We can't numerically measure our faith because we can't measure love. Our faith is our response to God's love. Our faith grows as we become better at loving God and loving one another.

 I wonder if it may be possible to measure our faith indirectly. Perhaps it is the measurable distance between you and God. The more our faith grows, the closer we come to God. If we are genuinely working on increasing our faith, we will not need God to yell, "You grew!". Ideally, you would be so close that you could feel His breath as He whispers, "You grew!" 

 -Susan