God takes two days to grow a mushroom but sixty years to grow an oak tree. So, would you like to be a mushroom or an oak tree? Spiritual growth takes time. Have you been wondering, ‘Why is it taking me so long to improve? I’m still struggling with most of my weaknesses.’ The answer is that, just like natural, sustained growth, spiritual growth takes time. The best fruit ripens gradually. Jesus said, ‘Truly, truly…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit’ (v. 24 ESV). When Jesus says, ‘Truly, truly,’ He means, ‘Listen! This is very important, and you need to understand it.’ The point Jesus stresses here is that just like a grain of wheat has to die to produce fruit, so we also must let our old natures die to produce spiritual growth. And dying to our own self-absorption takes a while. We want to dig up the seed from time to time to monitor its progress, instead of trusting God to perform His work in our lives. Christ will produce fruit in our lives if we stay in Him. Jesus said, ‘Abide in me’ (John 15:4 KJV). The word ‘abide’ means ‘to live in’. Abiding in Christ means staying in contact with Him, depending on Him, living for Him, and trusting Him to finish His work in our lives in His perfect timing. Wait for God’s promised harvest, and while you’re waiting, delight in His presence in your life. God is happy with you at every phase of your spiritual growth. He isn’t waiting until you’re perfect before He’ll start to love you. He’ll never love you one drop more than He already does.
