Back when when thesis was due, I wrote for Habakkuk’s annual “magazine”. Here is the article reproduced here.
What does it mean to grow as a Christian? A very loose definition is to improve our relationship with God. However, that isn’t very helpful as any sort of practical advice for anybody, so here is my attempt to give some advice (from my own personal experience) how one can grow in the Christian faith.
There are three aspects where a person can grow as a Christian (in practical terms), and they are: character, knowledge, and skills. Character is a person’s moral or ethical strength, or his ability to act according to God’s will; knowledge is a person’s understanding of biblical truth; and skills are practical things that a person can do to encourage both him/herself and others around him/her.
Many Christians see that growth is only defined as the building of character. While it is important to learn the important lessons of trusting God and communicating to Him through prayer, without the acquisition of knowledge and skills, these lessons can be unlearnt very quickly. Or, looking from another perspective, improving a person’s knowledge and developing a person’s skills can also help build character very quickly! You, as a Christian, cannot grow in character without the growth in knowledge. You cannot grow in character without first KNOWING what God wants from you, as written in the Bible. Praying to a God who you do not know will not help your spiritual life at all. However, growing in your character also assists in growth in the other two areas, as it provides a motivation for you to learn more about our God, and learn more about how to better serve others.
You can see that these three areas go together quite well, and that each one cannot stand on its own without the other two.
Whether you are reading this in Hong Kong, or in Australia, remember that these holidays are a perfect opportunity for you to grow as a Christian, in the areas of character, knowledge, and skills. Of course, the first place to start is to read the Bible, and if you want more, then go read a book that can either teach you something about the Bible, or teach you how to serve others in your fellowship. Afterall, that is what fellowship is about, helping each other grow in Christ.
Of course, this was written with the members of Habakkuk in mind, but I hope others may benefit from it.
