How Do You Measure Your Own Spiritual Growth?
Growth is measurable in so many areas of life.
Think about when you were a child and your little body was growing every year. Every time you visited the doctor your height was measured and you left feeling thrilled at gaining another inch. Your parents probably even marked up a door frame in your home with notches so you could see how big you were getting every year.
Once we’re older, though, our height isn’t quite the accomplishment it was when we were kids. Now, we are measured in other ways. At work and at school, our progress is measured based on our productivity, performance, and accomplishments, for example.
As a community of believers, we strive to be like Jesus more and more every day. But how do we know if we’re advancing and maturing in our spiritual journey? We each have a responsibility to understand where we are spiritually, where we need to be, and how to get there, right?
Let’s talk about how we measure our own spiritual growth!
What Is Our Spiritual Goal?
The first thing we need to figure out when we’re trying to measure our spiritual growth is what our spiritual goal is. As with many things in life, it helps to have a specific and measurable goal to work towards. For example, you wouldn’t make a New Year’s resolution to simply be a “better” person, right?
When it comes to our spiritual goal, many people refer to spiritual disciplines. While prayer, Bible reading, fasting, giving, and other practices we engage in as believers are important, they’re not really the ultimate goal. They’re actually more like tools for or even symptoms of striving toward our goal.
So, if the goal is not to be good at spiritual disciplines, what is our goal? It’s the same for all of us: To have a relationship with God and to follow his will for our life.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ”
Once we understand the goal, we can begin to discover where we are spiritually and start to walk the path toward relationship and purpose.
Ask Yourself Some Tough Questions
Living for God is a lifelong journey, and each of us is at a different place in that journey. We have different strengths at our disposal and different struggles that hinder us. How do we each identify where we are and how to get where we know God wants us to be?
Well, we’ll have to ask ourselves some difficult questions…
Do You Hear from God?
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ”
It would be pretty difficult to have a relationship with someone that you never hear from, right? And it would also be difficult to do what someone wants you to do without listening to what they say. That’s why hearing God’s voice in your life is so important. Whether it’s through your prayer times, through scripture, through preaching, or some other path, regularly hearing from God is a good indication that he’s growing you spiritually.
If you’re feeling like you don’t hear from the Lord as often as you should, you can change that today by simply seeking him. Set some time aside for prayer and study and ask God to speak to you in a mighty way!
Are Spiritual Gifts Operating in Your Life?
Paul explained that the purpose of spiritual gifts is “for building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12) and that “we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Eph 4:15). Let’s look at Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth for a reminder about what the spiritual gifts are:
“For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:8-11
So, do you see evidence of the spiritual gifts in your life being used to build up others? If you’re unsure what gifts you have or whether you use them, just ask God! Paul also said that we should “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts” (1 Cor 14:1), so be confident that the Lord will respond to your desire to have and use these amazing gifts!
Is Spiritual Fruit Being Produced?
When a tree or plant grows, the evidence of its health is in the fruit that it puts out. If no fruit is produced or there’s disease or rot in its fruit, that’s a good indication that the tree is not in good shape.
In the same way, our spiritual growth and health are marked by the fruit that is produced in our life. And Paul says in Colossians 1:10 that bearing good fruit pleases God.
So, what exactly is spiritual fruit? Another list of goodies in scripture, spiritual fruit is what you might think: Good and wholesome things produced by God’s spirit in our lives:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ”
Are You Making Disciples?
We have a job to do as Christians, and it’s laid out in the scripture that we often call “The Great Commission.”
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. ”
If we’re making disciples, it’s a good indication that we have a solid connection with Jesus in our hearts.
Feeling like you could be doing more to bring the good news to the world? Maybe you don’t know where to start… you’re not alone! Spreading the gospel isn’t always easy, but there’s no greater job in the world.
Consider asking a trusted mentor to help you learn how to spread the gospel to your circle of influence. You’ll find yourself growing immensely in your relationship with God while you witness lives being changed!
Related Post: How to Share the Gospel in the Workplace
Don’t Get Discouraged: Remember Who You Were…
Measuring your spiritual growth is an uncomfortable task. After all, it makes us examine ourselves and face realities about our flaws and missteps. When we compare ourselves with Jesus, we all fall so incredibly short, don’t we? But don’t get too discouraged — God’s conviction comes along with hope, not despair.
Think about who you’ve been in the past and who God has made you into today through the spiritual growth you’ve already experienced. Bask in thankfulness for all he’s done, and always remember:
“He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ. ”