We are sometimes in awe of the “great ones” in our lives. We want to grow to be like them. Some seem to be spiritual giants; others, fountains of wisdom and paragons of virtue.

What we see in them is the finished product—not the years of study, work and suffering that brought them to their current level. Our society is one accustomed to instant everything—so we think, why not instant growth as well? We look for faster and faster; the less effort, the better.

True growth, however, requires time and energy. Jesus tells of a garden in which a tree would not grow. Jesus patiently offered to fertilize the tree one more time and encourage it to produce (Luke 13:8), but the implication is that we must not take that patience for granted. We must do our part to grow! Other passages expand the analogy. As the tree begins to grow, God prunes it so that it will produce more. We grow and God prunes us for greater growth.

Though Jesus has fertilized us and God stands ready to prune, the decision to begin growing is always ours.