Grass. You see it everywhere. From beautiful pastures to the annoying times it grows in your landscape or between your patio. But have you ever stopped and thought about how incredible it is? Imagine your yard without it. Imagine a mountainside without it. A golf course with no grass. How about Scotland, grassless. And finally, imagine Greenland with no blade of grass in sight (right, Greenland has no grass). Perhaps up close one blade of grass doesn’t leave a huge impression but after thinking about how bare our world would be without it, it’s quite the sight. Now, what can we learn from this crucial aspect of God’s Creation?
In my last post, we began discussing how our time is priceless. Our worth is not measured by how much money we make per hour, our job, our education, relationships, etc. The value of our time (our life) is worth only as much as the amount of it that we give to God and His plan for our life. Anything less than that has no value at all. We’ve discussed how there are endless opportunities for using our time to serve God to make eternal impacts for His glory. Now, let’s talk about roots…

Grass can only grow as tall as its roots grow deep. Our lives are very similar: often we look for opportunities to make eternal impacts before we’re ever grounded in our faith. Just like if you cut newly planted grass before its roots are established it’ll die so will your faith if you look to grow tall in appearance before deep in maturity. The second way we ought to be spending our time is growing in the maturity of Christ so that we may understand His will for our lives and enjoy Him more.

“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity…”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5:12-6:1 NIV‬

When we first accept the gift of salvation through faith, the Bible says we are born again. Just as in our physical lives we are brought up on milk and elementary learning, it is the same in our spiritual lives. It would be silly if a high schooler or a grown adult was still needing to learn basic math like two plus two or still drank out of their sippy cup from childhood. However, the writer of Hebrews was seeing this problem in the spiritual lives of the Christians of his day just as we are today. We’re expected to mature as we grow up in our physical lives, this should be expected of us in our spiritual lives as well. However, the writer of Hebrews is calling Christians to an even higher standard than just growth. The Greek word that maturity comes from in Hebrews 6:1 is actually τελειότης which means perfection or, as some translate it, full growth. God wants us to give Him our best, our fullness. He doesn’t expect perfection from us (otherwise He wouldn’t have sent Jesus) but Colossians 3:3 says we are “hidden in Christ Jesus”. God chooses to see perfection in us through Jesus. We are made right by the grace we received. In the realm of botany, if a plant isn’t growing it is dead. I believe it is the same for our spiritual lives. The moment we stop growing is the moment our time (our life) loses value. Because of this, it is time that we move past the elementary things we once knew and press on to full maturity in Christ. The best way to do this is by the faithful reading of God’s Word.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3:16-17 NIV

The Bible is what equips us for the opportunities God sets before us. It is how we grow in closeness with our Heavenly Father. It is how we learn to live a more holy, more mature life dedicated to the One we love. Don’t go at it alone. You’ve probably noticed that grass doesn’t typically grow as a single blade. Its root system is connected to many more! Each blade relies on its partners around it to stay established. Rely on the people around you to stay established in the foundation of Christ. The Bible, which is literally one with Jesus (John 1:1), is our foundation– our soil on which we grow. Without Christ, we fall apart, no matter how many believers we’re leaning on. In our growth stay grounded in the Truth– stay grounded in Christ, not giving into false teachings that lead us astray.

The last thing to note here is that Hebrews 6:1 is not just a suggestion– it is a call for every Christian. My prayer for you is that you will choose to press on towards full maturity in Christ and press into closeness with your Heavenly Father. My prayer is that you will Live Intently For Eternity, which means knowing God better in the now.

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Begin to know Him now, and never finish.”

-Oswald Chambers

L.I.F.E. – – – Live Intently For Eternity

Life is not about living for ourselves, it is about living, earnestly, in light of what He did for us.