Growth Curves

Growth.

From the time we enter the world,

from first breath,

our growth is measured, charted, tracked and assessed.

And the fascination with growth seems to be hard-wired within us as people

as we learn ways to best grow our bodies,

our minds,

our skills,

our resources,

or financial portfolios,

our customers,

our followers...

and the list keeps growing.

We care enough

to use charts to check whether growth is adequate

or missing the mark;

We care enough

to assess deviations and to determine whether growth is on track

or straying from projected trends.

And when it comes to the body, the medical community is clear

about the danger of growth which starts out poorly:

It's labeled Failure to Thrive.

Because how we start matters.

Because what we have with us determines the strength of our start.

Because what is present in the first place predicts the potential.

So with all of this time and effort

spent on measuring and assessing...

Are we noticing development and maturity?

Are we flourishing, as a result?

Can we actually claim to be thriving?

At some point in our tracking and tracing and trending the growth curves,

we may need to put the pen down,

pause,

and ask:

How are we actually growing into life?

What kind of growth is lasting gain?

Multiple manuals offer directions for growth

while another Manual simplifies our Growth Objective:

Grow in the grace and knowledge

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:18

But how exactly would we plot grace and knowledge for size?

Speaking the truth in love,

we will in all things grow up into Him

Who is the head, that is, Christ. Eph 4:15

But what exactly is required to reach this immense height

of growing up into Him?

We're likely already overwhelmed with feedback -

that we are not measuring up,

that we don't have enough,

that we'll never be enough,

that we'll never get enough.

So in our "wisdom," we set out to prove that we can do it-

we can grow on our own,

we can grow apart from everything else,

we can go it alone,

we can go big or go home...

But then it becomes a going-in-circles

of ever-getting -

of getting ahead,

of getting more,

of getting there first...

and something is off,

and missing the mark,

and we eventually recognize that

there is no together in this list of to-get's

and that something important is missing.

Something as essential as Human Growth Hormone is

to the growth of the body.

From Him the whole body,

joined and held together by every supporting ligament,

grows and builds itself up in love,

as each part does its work. Eph 4:15

Something here seems to require...togetherness.

Something here seems to include...others.

We are not to be apart, but to be a part of the whole.

And let's be honest that togetherness may mean together-stress,

but there it is.

It's an uncomfortable truth: growth requires stress.

And it's a painful process: stress leads to growth.

Just take a page from the body's book of wisdom to verify this.

What increases bone mass? Stress.

What causes a loss of bone mass? Too little stress.

Accepting stressors to bones (walking, lifting weights, exercising)

make bones thicker and stronger.

And it's true that a no-gravity environment (think astronauts in outer space)

is dangerous for bones,

because there is no stress placed on bones.

A no-pressure environment may not give us our best growth.

Pressures can surely help grow us.

But they are not meant to break us.

Perhaps it's about recognizing the truth about this growth,

the true growth-goal:

to prepare God's people for works of service,

so that the body of Christ may be built up

until we all reach unity

in the faith... Eph 4:12

The gentle Jean Vanier knows about growth and what's required.

The clue is in his title: Community and Growth.

He describes:

"When one discovers a sense of belonging,

that they are part of a family,

then the will to live begins to emerge."

Belonging enables Life to Grow.

Jean goes on:

"We are called to grow together,

each one becoming more fully himself or herself.

If people are deeply respected

in their personal development,

then and only then

is the possibility of real growth.

In community, we have a message to give and a message to receive.

We have a mission."

And instead of go-ing it alone,

go-ing ahead...

Jean reiterates the gospels:

"Go! Go and announce the Good News! Go poorly and do the impossible! What is the impossible?

Liberation...

Liberating others from the demons of fear, loneliness, hatred and egoism that shackle them.

Liberate so they can love, heal and liberate others."

Fully living means fully living together; separation is dangerous.

Jean acknowledges, "Jesus says that it might be difficult, but that it will be a place of growth and love for us. It is there that love will be revealed."

So it is there...with others,

in community,

in the village,

in the family,

in the workplace,

in all places,

in the stress, in the mess, in the pressure

that true growth is possible.

Because how we start matters.

Because when we start with the Christ in us

we realize that Christ seeks Connection to Himself in others.

Because what we have with us determines the strength of our start.

Because who we have with us determines the strength of our start.

Because recognizing what is present in the first place predicts the potential.

Because recognizing who is present, and that we are present with them,

predicts our potential for growing into Goodness and into Godness.

Ultimately, our optimal growth may make our bones cry out:

Christ will be exalted

in my body

whether by life or by death! Phil 1:20