More and More

Hi. It's been a minute. It's been a really long minute, 1 year, 5 months, 1 week, and 1 day to be exact.

I was originally planning on starting with a topic that would align with my "welcome back from this hiatus" moment, but we've been there and done that, and well, that's just not how God was leading this time. So instead, I'm going to be like one of those annoying professors who did not in fact spend the first week of class going over the syllabus and just dive right in!

"Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more."

(1 Thessalonians 4:1)

"Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more."

(1 Thessalonians 4:9-10)

Have you ever heard the saying, "The reward for hard work is more work?" My parents say that a lot to my siblings and me, especially after just getting through an exam, semester, or big project. I didn't really like hearing it. I thought, "If I've already worked so hard to get to this point, don't I deserve some rest? Why can't I just get a pat on the back and a pass to relax?" However much I wasn't a fan, it didn't make the saying any less true, and not only when it comes to academic work.

"More" is defined as a greater or additional amount or degree of. In the verses above, Paul writes to the Thessalonian church to "walk and to please God... more and more" and "to love one another... more and more." The thing is, they were already doing a good job at these things, and Paul acknowledged and commended that! Yet, he didn't say "Okay, you guys are pretty good Christians now, so you can just chill here," which for me at least, is sometimes what I want to hear. When I am convicted about a particular area I need to work on, and I see some growth after a while, I just want to relish in that, only to have something else pointed out or realize there is yet more room for improvement in the first. Fortunately or unfortunately, our work is never done as Christians, not until we see Him face-to-face (Philippians 1:6).

Think about the many analogies used in the Bible for the Christian journey. If you run so far in a race but stop in the middle, you lose whatever advantage you gained. Or if you train for a 5k race and after a few weeks or months, can run it in 30 minutes, that's quite an impressive feat. However, if you are so stunned by that, and you do not continue training, you'll find that in a couple of months, you'll be back to struggling to run that distance (I'm speaking from experience). If you painstakingly create a beautiful garden but go away for a while, when you return, you'll realize just how much damage the weeks left without watering, pruning, etc can do. Likewise, if we stop putting in effort to grow in our spiritual lives, it will start to wither. Our walk with God requires more and more.

One area where I realized this was charity. Charity is an important Christian virtue, and over this past summer, I saw that it was an area I needed to grow in. One of the practical steps I implemented was to have a portion of my monthly budget dedicated to charity, which could take the form of donating to a cause or organization, or simply carrying tens in my purse so that I would have something to give to anyone I encountered begging. I have been doing this for months now, and I was truly pleased with this progress and how my love for others had also expanded in the process. Then, a few days ago, I was listening to the audiobook, Mostly What God Does, by Savannah Guthrie, and she told a story of a "more and more" moment she had that also triggered one for me. She had encountered a man begging on the street and bought him some lunch, but as she walked away, she thought about how Jesus would not only have gotten him food, but He would've sat with him, ate with him, listened to his stories, and shared with him the Bread of life. Just when I thought I was doing well...

But this isn't supposed to be a discouragement. It's not a case of "Why try when I'm never going to be perfect at it anyway." Rather, when you see the progress you've already made, you can celebrate that, celebrate God's enabling grace and faithfulness, and allow that to be the fuel and motivation to try more and more.

Philippians 3:12-14 says,

"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

So, brothers and sisters, love more and more, pray more and more, serve more and more, forgive more and more, praise more and more, _____ more and more, whatever that blank may be for you. And may the grace and peace of Christ be with you!