Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
In the world of the living, only those things that are dead or dying do not grow. As those who are alive in Christ, the expectation is that we would grow spiritually. In the physical, we can grow in size and weight, and there are known factors that help with this growth (foods, rest, exercise, etc). What factors help with spiritual growth?
The author of Hebrews gives us the factors that help with spiritual growth as a summation of the entirety of his work:*
the God of peace*
the blood of the eternal covenant*
the resurrection of Jesus*
His Shepherd care for his sheep*
the indwelling life of God himself*
the equipping of the Spirit*
the aim to please God*
the eternal glory and lordship of Jesus*
Conspicuously missing from this list… you. Sure, your will must be engaged, but your willful engagement in the process of God does not involve “making transformation happen.” The agent of original creation is the same transformational agent God uses for making you and me a new creation as God’s people: Christ Jesus (Hebrews 1:2).*
As the author of Hebrews closes his letter, he emphasizes the heart of God for His people: live out the will of God in light of the work of Christ.* If we can do this simple thing, we will see God make good in us what was previously imperfect.* We will see growth.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to focus on one factor listed above that enables spiritual growth, and allow Him to do the work. Perhaps God wants you to surrender once again to the process of His transformation, setting aside your efforts of self-change. Maybe today God wants you to allow Him to highlight something that He wants to do to bring to good that which is imperfect in you.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 13:7–19). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 693–696). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 191–192). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 441–442). Zondervan Publishing House.