Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
Luke 2:52 “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
It seems almost irreverent to suggest that Jesus had to grow in favor with God. But that is exactly what Luke tells us in Luke 2:52. Yes, Jesus grew Spiritually. At twelve years old, he was discussing the Scriptures with the leaders of the Jewish community. This would have been something similar to testing before a bar mitzvah. We are not told too much about his growing up years, so we are forced to make some assumptions.
Scriptures seem to indicate that Jesus did not rely on His God power to pull things off. Part of His reason for coming in the flesh is to show us that it can be done in these temporary bodies. When He is speaking in the temple, He was prepared. He had read and studied the Scriptures. It seems likely that He had already gotten into the habit of speaking with the Father on a regular basis. It would be almost unnatural for Jesus to go from never fasting to a forty plus days of fasting that is recorded in the Gospels. It seems likely that He did so at least once a year on Yom Kippur and maybe more often.
Jesus is our guide for growing Spiritually.
What does your personal Spiritual growth plan look like. Do you just check the box of attending church once or a few times a week? Or do you attend church with a desire to know more, learn more and apply more of the Scriptures. Have you, like King David, developed a propensity for worship, giving your whole self in worship of the King of Kings? Jesus knew the Word of God and used it masterfully in every interaction with those in His life. Sometimes He directly quoted from the law or the prophets. Other times, He took the time to give it more context and more importantly showed us how to live it out.
Spiritual disciplines do include Bible reading and Bible study, but these mean nothing if you do not go out and apply it in your life. Remember that the Pharisees studied the Bible of their era diligently and debated its finer points, but still fell very short to growing spiritually.
While it starts out with some interaction with the Bible, we must take time to meditate on it and spend time in solitude, so that it can seep deep into our being. Prayerfully, soaking yourself in the Word of God should lead to virtuous, loving behaviors to become more natural. I don’t believe that when Jesus was going through His tribulation that He had to consciously think through loving His enemies. If He had to do that, the physical fatigue would have made that nearly impossible. He spent time routinely with the Father to prepare Him for that moment.
While we are talking about being a Poverty Warrior in these four distinct areas, it is good to be reminded that they all feed in and tie in with each other. While we want to eat healthily, we must do so with love and respect with others. As we build our wisdom, we need to think through the Words of the Bible and how best to apply them to our everyday living.
Be Spiritually strong, poverty warrior.
