March 25, 2015
Growing in Christ!
Heavenly Father! We
are unable to make things grow, but by Your divine favor You not only cause
plants to grow, but You raise us up as Your children. Inspire us to grow, in grace and the ability
to share it with others of what Jesus Christ did on Calvary. For Jesus died in order to set us free and
this was out of His love for each and every one of us. AMEN.
Robby Gallaty, an author and church expert in discipleship wrote
a book entitled, “Growing Up: How to be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples”. In this book his main thesis is that we
Christians are to be disciples of Jesus Christ and we are called to grow in our
relationship with Jesus Christ and share this relationship with others.
From the outside looking in, it is clear, Robby is right,
that is what we are called to do, but as happens with a lot of us, then demands
of our job, family, school, expectations and other things not only overwhelm
us, but we become numb. Our numbness is
not only to the voices we hear that bombard us on television, radio, the
internet, but even from our children, family, friends and even here in the
church. We become numb to the need of
growth in our lives as Christians and then become numb to the meaning and
implications of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
But this is why we celebrate Lent, to remember Jesus
willingness to go to the Cross for us and especially why tonight we have a
green bead on the salvation bracelet.
The green bead we have tonight is to remind us that we are to be “Growing
in Christ”! Just as when the
wheat is planted in the fall or corn in the spring, just as will happen shortly,
the seed outside of dirt will not sprout and grow. But once planted into the ground with the
right moisture, depth, warmth and sunlight, sprouts from the cover that
protects. And once it sprouts it sends a
root deeper into the earth and a sprout that emerges from the ground and the
seed grows as God intended.
This is a perfect metaphor or explanation of what we as
Christians are called to be as we are “Growing in Christ”. When we wear the Salvation Bracelet and
explain our beliefs to non-believers and believers, the green bead is to remind
us we can “Grow in Christ”. We grow
when we come to hear the Word of God that tells of the offer of the free gift
of salvation from Jesus Christ. God feeds
us by the Gospel of Jesus Christ that tells what He did on Calvary. And our growth is aided by God’s gifts given
to us of His Sacraments from the Altar, His Word from both the pulpit and
lectern as well as being surrounded by others who are here to “Grow
in Christ!”
Just as wheat and corn grow best in
a ‘stand’ when planted with other seed.
We as Christians grow best when we are surrounded by others who want to
grow as well. Hence why we are here
tonight to learn about the salvation bracelet’s green bead symbolizing ‘growth’. Our individual growth is not dependent upon
others, but only made a reality by God and His gifts of grace to and for us. For God like Paul says, gives the growth that
we have and this is a gift from God for all of us. And the growth offered is limitless unlike
corn or wheat. If I were to engage one
of the farmers they would say, a wheat plant can have approximately 20 to 50
kernels of wheat in one head that can be harvested. So to, one Christian who grows in their faith
and shares it can have a larger kingdom impact. This is why God calls us to “Grow
in Christ!”
For the salvation bracelet with the
many colored beads is a tool to help us to “Grow in Christ” and in
our faith and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not only a gift, but a real
opportunity for us to wear our faith on our wrist, and also engage and grow in
our faith on a daily basis and share it with one another.
Recently, I heard a Christian
author tell how he engaged his faith with his family. It wasn’t only by sharing the stories of
faith around the table at dinner or before bedtime with the kids or dragging
them to church, because the pastor was the ‘expert’. They as a family understood that living their
faith wasn’t just a one-time experience.
They were out to dinner locally and saw an individual who was different
than they were and they invited them to have dinner with them.
After engaging in small talk about
the latest scores from the NCAA and the weather, the individual asked about why
they invited them to join them for dinner.
This opened up an amazing opportunity for the family from the children
to the parents to share their faith and the impact it had of inviting this
stranger to join them in a meal. This is
the opportunity that the salvation bracelet can have of helping us to be bold
with our faith and sharing it with others even over a meal at McDonald’s or
Arby’s. It is the opportunity that God
can use to plant the seed of the Gospel of Salvation, water it, but especially made
it grow and have a kingdom impact as we grow in our faith and life as disciples
of Jesus Christ.
This is the opportunity we have
when we fully understand how the Green Bead symbolizes our “Growing
in Christ”. When we combine all
the beads of the salvation bracelet the salvation story not only is planted
firmly in our lives, but we can grow in grace, understanding and belief that
the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all mankind and share it. And God has purposely planted us here at
Emmanuel in order that we can grow in our faith and be enabled to share it with
others. For God wants us to ‘Grow
in Christ’ and have a kingdom impact in sharing what Jesus Christ has
done for each of us on the Cross of Calvary for all of mankind. Including all of us saints gathered here at
Emmanuel who are “Growing in Christ” when we share what the Green Bead of the
Salvation Bracelet really means. AMEN.
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