Constant Growth

Psalm 1:1-3

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers.”

November 16, 2021

Do you remember the story of Jack and the Beanstalk?  In that story, magical beans get planted and overnight, the beanstalk grows to enormous heights, reaching into the clouds.  Jack then climbs to the top of the beanstalk and finds a magical land where a giant lives.  If Jack can be tricky (sneaky) enough, he can get the amazing treasures of the giant to save his family’s farm.  Otherwise, he will lose his life.  “Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum . . .” well, you remember.  Jack winds up getting the goods, chopping down the beanstalk, and saving the day.

On the first day of my second grade year, my brother, sister, a couple of cousins, and I went over to the woods, found a tiny little pine sapling and transplanted it to the edge of my parent’s yard near the road.  What started out to be smaller than my 2nd grade knees grew to be a towering 20+ feet tall pine tree.  Due to power lines in the area, the tree had to be trimmed back and eventually cut down.  Yet, look at its growth!  It was not overnight that it attained its height.  It was not even in a year or three.  No, it took maybe 2 decades to get to its height prior to its removal.  This was no magical beanstalk . . . it was a fast growing tree, for sure, but even fast growing trees grow slowly over time.  The only observable growth was the annual appearance of the pine cones on  its limbs and upon the ground.

Listen to the psalm above: “Blessed is the man . . . his delight is in the law of the Lord . . . He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season . . .”  We too often look at faith as if it is a magical thing, rather than a continual daily growth.  Our growth might seem slow, maybe even non-existent sometimes.  Yet, if we spend time in God’s word and prayer daily, and in service to others regularly, we begin to provide the right atmosphere for spiritual growth.  Jesus even says that He is the living water, and likewise that He is the vine and we are the branches.  The psalmist above says that when we stay in the word, meditating on it, then we will produce fruit.  While the growth of the tree overall may not be as readily noticeable, the growth of fruit certainly is.  Can anyone see any spiritual growth in you?