Sanctification

The other night, I was helping my sons take baths. My oldest finished his bath, and my youngest son came in for his bath. Earlier in the day, he was stung by a bee, and after a visit to the pediatrician's office, was told to rest. I gave him his bath, and as he got out, he told me he didn't want to be seven anymore. He wanted to be eight. He didn't like that his older brother's birthday is coming up soon, and he would be turning nine. The conversation continued as we put lotion on his body, oiled his head, and cleaned his ears. He put on his pajamas, said it one more time to me ("I don't want to be seven anymore!"), and I thought the conversation was over.

I went to another bathroom to put away the items we'd used for his bath, and when I turned around, he was standing there, crying. We had to have a sit-down conversation in order for me to find the root of his tears. He wants to be eight years old because he wants to grow. We talked about how he has grown since his last birthday - shoes and pants that no longer fit (even though his birthday was just last month!), that his hair grows, that he is taller, and that he is gaining weight. Yes, you can stay the same age, and still grow.

Human beings have a fascination with growing up. My children have grown up too fast - they have seen too much, and experience too much for their young ages. The irony is that a Christian life moves much more slowly. In a Christian life, we stay "seven" a lot longer as we grow in grace. John Wesley called the process of growing in grace sanctification. We keep moving on toward perfection throughout our lives. At times, like when we are younger, the growth is fast (and faster than our birthday can arrive); at other times, we take one step forward and two steps backward.

Just as we don't need to rush our physical growth, we don't need to rush our spiritual growth. We must always remember that sanctification is a process. It doesn't happen because we said yes to Jesus five minutes, ten years, or a generation ago. It happens because we are intentional about growing in our faith. Just as we need proper nutrition, sleep, and body care to grow, we must also engage in spiritual practices in order for us to grow our spirits. John Wesley encouraged us to practice equally works of piety and mercy. We grow when we read our Bibles, worship, have accountability groups, pray, participate in the Sacraments, and more; but we grow as much when we heal the sick, visit prisons, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked.

Those spiritual practices take time. We can't get all the nutrition we need in one helping, or sleep one night to become physically mature. In the same vein, we can't practice works of piety and mercy in fits and starts, or we don't really grow. Growth takes time, intentionality, and consistency.

My son won't be eight years old anytime soon - not for another ten months; but he is growing constantly as he eats well, exercises, takes care of his body, and gets the rest he needs. What if we took that same care with our souls? What growth would we see in our lives?