Grow Anyway

Growth is not linear; it’s uneven, messy, and full of contradictions. 

Just like children surprise us with flashes of wisdom followed by impulsive mistakes.

One moment, they speak with a depth that makes you pause and wonder, Is this really my child?

The next moment, they’re pouring water into a container of expensive oil. Innocence mixed with recklessness.

A gesture that isn’t malicious, just unaware of value, unaware of consequence. It’s not evil; it’s immature. That’s growth: real, gritty, and never linear.

And if we’re honest, we’re not much different. We walk with Jesus, we soak in His words, we feel His presence… and still, we flip the coin.

We sometimes respond in love one moment, then react in fear the next. We forgive, then later hold a grudge. 

Growth is a series of ‘holy’ stumbles, not always graceful, but always guided.

Even Peter, walking beside the Savior, heard “Blessed are you” one moment, and “Get behind me, Satan” the next. Closeness to Christ never excuses the process of growth, it meant proximity to higher grace.

Jesus didn’t merely rebuke Peter; He used that moment to teach a foundational truth about discipleship and growing devotion to Him. True discipleship calls for self-denial, taking up the cross, and following Christ, even when the road is hard. And oh, Peter did grow. He put away childish thinking. In his second epistle, he looked back on how far he had come and felt compelled to encourage others that growth is possible. So he wrote, “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”