‘How are you?’ It’s a question you may be hearing more, or perhaps less often than normal, depending on how much you’re on the phone/zoom. If you’re like me, I sometimes struggle to answer very open-ended questions – where do you start? How far does the asker want to go? 

‘Are you growing in your faith?’ is another of those questions I struggle to coherently answer out of the blue. How do I know if I’m growing?!  

One way to think about this question is to examine your heart: 

I’m not saying this is the only measure of growth of course, but it’s one that I’ve found helpful.  

Growing in faith certainly involves being filled with God’s love. Am I loving like Jesus? Isaac beautifully described Jesus’ touch in his blog a couple of weeks ago. Motivated by compassion and as God incarnate, Jesus touched the man with leprosy, the blind man and a woman bleeding. He knelt beside the bed of a friend, Peter’s mother in law and a young girl. He had time for people emotionally, physically and spiritually. He entered their world.  

‘Break my heart for what breaks yours. Everything I am for your Kingdom’s cause’ we pray.¹   

I realise that when my tank is low, I find it difficult to think of others. I care less about what’s going on in my friends lives. I’m cynical about the poor. I’m quick to judge. It’s me first. 

When my tank is full, it’s generally because I’ve spent more time in God’s presence. When I’m growing in faith, I tend to see things from others perspectives. I want people to know God cares for them. People I find more trying, are welcome in my life! The more I grow in faith, the more I love those that God loves too.  

How has your heart grown for others recently? 

1 Hosanna by B. Fraser, Hillsong United. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=WgJYNlDhY-4 

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