Still Growing In Grace

I reaped so many personal benefits from this season with Dad. I can still experience the excitement of the Lord just like when I first met Him. I can still learn. I am still teachable. I can adapt. I must continue to be flexible. I haven't arrived, and I know it. That's good to remember. Contentment is at home with me, and it is so welcome. There's always room for more of it. Knowing that there is a blurry line between contentment and complacency motivates me to be vigilant, and reminds me of the prophetic nature of my given first name ("Gregory"), and what the Lord would eventually do in me and through me. Look up its meaning if you are curious, but in ancient languages, my name is derived from the word that means "to stay awake, to be vigilant, responsible, watchful."

Notice the word "responsible." One use of the word is in Matthew 25:13, "watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." Talk about responsibility! My task from the Lord is not just to talk about the distresses of the day or complain about injustices or evils; I am responsible to act rightly and guide others in a priestly manner to be watchful of the Lord, His ways, and His return. That's why I sarcastically smirk at this generation's enlightenment that it is arriving to a higher learning and is now "woke". Void of wisdom, our culture today has done less with its learning opportunities than any previous generation with its information and level of discovery. Knowledge is the accumulation of information, facts, opinions, perspectives, etc and much of it has no relevance on anything important or eternal. Wisdom is the spiritual ability to process and apply that information in a way that highlights the person of God and His purposes. Wisdom is the real "woke"ness. HA! And it is in short supply today.

Scripture invites, urges, admonishes, even commands and demands that we "grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (II Pet 3:18)  My years with Dad affirmed that I can and am still growing, learning, assimilating and acting upon wisdom, sorting things that are true from the false, and the eternally important from the worldly mundane. I have often asked the Lord to never let me grow bitter as I age, to never let me get away with thinking I have arrived, to always remind me I can and must grow in Him, and that if I reach a place of bitterness, complacency, or self-sufficiency, I expect that He will deal with me firmly. I have asked for it, and I should expect it. Praise God! He's still working me......