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All life in creation is directed towards growth, fruition and reproduction. Every plant, every creature, but also every form of spiritual life follows a predetermined “blueprint” that determines the necessary time for maturity and the conditions for growth.
Anyone who tries to pull on a small green shoot to make a plant grow faster will not be successful. On the contrary, the delicate plant is quickly uprooted. Anyone who does not want the beautiful seed to decay in the earth will never be able to harvest any fruit; anyone who replaces the rainy weather with “sunshine every day” will see their plant wither.
All really great things develop in silence, without noise, without hectic, without unnecessary “growth accelerators”. They grow and mature in silence according to their purpose. We see the growth process but take it for granted. Growth is something natural. Suddenly we see the green that has broken through the earth, then it changes into the waving gold of the ears of corn. The farmer’s tireless work and God’s blessings silently accomplished this miracle.
The same goes with the development of faith. Not the splendour of large church buildings, not the impressive crowds at major events, not the people with loud speeches are necessary to achieve maturity in the faith. It is not those who sing the strongest or who sing the best; but those who make the finer strings of the heart ring know how to play with the music. It is the constant maturation and growth that develops faith – for each individual. Before that happens, we often have to walk a long and thorny path. Faith is, first of all, seed placed in our soul. Then it develops through our personal interaction with God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), which reveals itself in His creation and people. The growth is accompanied by “farmers”, the sisters and brothers of the church that has Jesus Christ as its head.
But all of this would still be too little if God did not continually give His help and blessing as a sign of His grace. Wind and thunderstorms, sun and rain, heat and cold – they are all essential for the ripening process to reach its goal. Good days of joy and contentment are necessary, as are bad days of pain and sorrow, for a person’s faith to mature.
We must continually try to hear in silence what God has to say to us. We must continually set out to be obedient to God’s will in order to be able to perceive and experience God’s closeness. Maturing means having patience. Just that Weeds shoot up quickly. The good plant (faith) wants to grow firm roots and receive strength from above (from God) and from below (from the soil of the community).
The most beautiful fruits often grow in almost invisible places, away from the hustle and bustle, where they can unfold in all their glory. Fruits that immediately catch the eye are often the first to be pecked at by birds. It is the same in the spiritual world! The display of “beautiful and better faith” quickly runs the risk of being harmed by temptations and drowning in complacency.
God gladly blesses his children
and gives them many tokens of love so
that their faith does not diminish,
nor love for his kingdom.
That His work may then grow in us, as a planting in honour of Him,
and the fruit – as an identifying mark – ripe;
(Song 32, verse 2, Dutch hymn book)