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In human nature, when a child is given birth to, at a given time and place, the child is expected to grow to maturity. The people around would like to see the child, crawl, stand walk, talk, and grow to maturity. In most cases, the child is always compared with the children around or even with the ideal pace of infantile development already
known, not through any form of education but through a dint of natural instinct. Different food being given to the child, from the mother's breast-feeding to other food should nourish the child and aid his grown Also, the instructions the child receives from the parents and the community into which the child is born should help the growth of the child directly or indirectly. The child can also receive aid to growth through the influences he gets from the people and the things he or she comes into contact with, including toys.
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Indeed, the life in the child implies that the child grows and if he or she does not grow at all, the child is as good as dead. But if the growth In the child is stunted, people around would ask for reasons for such: could it be malnutrition, lack of openness to learning on the part of the child or not adequately involved In the communal life of others where a child normally has a fertile ground for growth. It is so with our Christian life.
At Baptism, the Christian is made a Son of God and immediately is endowed with the Spirit of life. This is the sacrament of initiation 'birth' to Christian life. And by its very nature, that life implies necessarily dynamism and growth.
The same applies to all baptized Christians who have become temples of the Holy Spirit. Such a Christian is expected to grow and the faith Implanted in him by the Spirit of God should bear fruits and should be seen in the life and work of the Christian. Again after receiving baptism, God has given us the Church to teach us the truth about him, the sacraments, around which we practice our faith, and the Holy Spirit to guide us. We also have the Christian community; the life of saints and those lay faithful whose life continue to bear witness to Christ, whom we can learn from. With all these, God is expecting us to grow in the Spirit and bear witness to his love. If we do not grow or have stunted growth in the Spirit, questions will be asked from our consciences Or from the Church community and only the individuals will be able to say the reason why the growth is lacking or poor. During his own ministry, Paul expected the people he ministered to grow in Spirit. Sadly, when this was not the case, at one of the occasions, he queried:
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”I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law or from faith in what you heard? Are you so stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? (Galatians 3:20)”.
The good works of the Christian are in reality the fruits of the Spirit. They go a long way to showing sincere growth in the Spirit. The seed Of life of Spirit planted in the believer at the moment of his baptism should normally grow and this dynamic development should be experienced, both by the Christian and the community. The experience of Christ -centered life in us may go a long way to convening others and bring them back to Christ.
GOD BLESS YOU
