Path to Spiritual Growth
TEXT: Psalm 119:105-112
“I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end” (Psalm 119:112).
There is a fable of a community where lived a blind old man who went about at night carrying a lantern. Many scoffed and jested at him for his seeming contradictory behaviour. What does a blind old man need a lantern for, they wondered. He was always amused at their curious and sometimes insolent comments.
One day one of them summed up courage, walked up to him and asked why he, with blind eyes, was always carrying a lantern about at night. The old man chuckled and responded that the lantern was not for his benefit, but for them so that they would not stumble on him.
From the passage before us today, we discover that to walk safely in the thick forest at night, we need a light to avoid stumbling over the roots or falling into holes. In this life, we walk through a dark forest of evil. But the Bible can be our light to show us the way ahead so we won’t stumble as we walk. It reveals the entangling roots of false values and philosophies.
Three simple habits – reading the scriptures, spending time in prayers and sharing with others are basic to the Christian life. Through the scriptures, Life speaks to life. And because God has inspired the writing of His word, when we read it, God speaks to us through the words.
But reading the word of God is not enough, it is more important to obey the word of God because in doing that is the path to our spiritual growth. The prayer is that may God give us the mind to understand his word, the heart to believe and the willingness to obey.
Total obedience is sure path to spiritual growth.