As I see it, “growing” is an absolutely essential theme... I confess that growing has been one of my favorite themes all through my ministry. This is probably because I’m a Methodist and have a Methodist outlook on the Christian life. Perhaps it also reflects simply the kind of person I am. But I think I’m this kind of person because I was raised in the best Methodist tradition. I believe in Christian growth. I can’t imagine a version of the Christian life which does not emphasize the absolute importance of growing.
In a sense, this is a sermon about new birth. Because it is built on the assumption that Christianity is a life, not simply a doctrine, and that it begins with a birth and continues with growth. The best proof that a person has been born again is that there is enough life in the individual to make him or her grow. And the biggest embarrassment to the doctrine of the new birth is the person who claims to be a Christian but doesn’t grow. Being born again isn’t an end in itself. God brings us to spiritual birth in order that we will grow up.
-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in a sermon entitled “What I Have Learned About Growing Up”
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