“And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” – Luke 2:40

A few weeks ago, I got a rare handshake from the doctor. At the beginning of every year, I take a comprehensive medical checkup. It’s something that I’ve been doing for a number of years.

So when the doctor asked whether it was medical insurance paying, I answered in the negative and that prompted the handshake.

In a brief conversation, he told me how many gentlemen, some on more than one medical insurance cards, completely loathe medical treatment, leave alone taking a routine medical checkup, with the argument that “real men are not weak like women or children.”

However, I strongly believe that God requires that we take care of our bodies (the Bible says they’re actually God’s bodies), the same way we must take care of our spirit and soul.

In other words, we must experience incremental growth physically, mentally and spiritually – whatever our age.

In our meditation today, we reflect on Jesus as a young man in Nazareth. The Bible says He grew strong physically, spiritually, mentally and socially.

Some other Bible versions say; “He continued to grow,” which suggests that Jesus’ growth was intentionally incremental.

“To reach your potential, change from accidental to intentional growth. Don’t wait for growth to come; take responsibility to grow. Rely on hard work rather than good luck. Take risks instead of playing it safe…never stop growing and learning.”

JOHN C. MAXWELL

He exerted Himself to grow mentally through study, spiritually through prayer and socially through His carpentry work and discipline as part of the community.

A famous quote from leadership guru John C. Maxwell says; “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”

That implies that growth is a personal choice that anyone can and should make.

Where there is no growth, there is stunting, and stunted children become vulnerable and prone to all sorts of hazards, leave alone making their parents sad.

 In 2 Peter 3:18, the Bible commands us to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

That implies that growth is a deliberate personal decision; you choose to grow or not!

Growth doesn’t just happen, growth isn’t automatic. You must go out of your way to seize growth opportunities, according to Maxwell, the author of the 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth.

But even if you don’t intentionally embrace the growth mindset, it doesn’t mean that change would spare you.

He adds: “To reach your potential, change from accidental to intentional growth. Don’t wait for growth to come; take responsibility to grow. Rely on hard work rather than good luck. Take risks instead of playing it safe…never stop growing and learning.”

As author Neale Donald Walsch aptly put it; “Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

Let’s not wait for growth to happen to us, be it physical fitness/wellness, intellectual, spiritual or professional/career growth.

Instead, let us intentionally and consistently put ourselves in growth environments especially those that stretch us out of our ‘comfort zones.’

Start today, this week, this month, this year!

Whatever our age or status, may God us to always embrace the growth mindset – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Amen!