The other day in The Castle, a child asked me why people did dumb things. I asked for more specifics. She said, “My little brother is always getting into trouble because he doesn’t obey the rules and talks back to mom a lot.”
I simply told her, “We do what we know, until we know something different.”
She looked a bit bewildered, so I took it a little further. I asked if she remembered when her little brother was a baby, before he could walk—how all he did was crawl around. I explained that was all he knew to do, although he saw other people walking around upright on two feet. He saw them running, jumping, and dancing, but all he knew to do was crawl. Then after a little while, because of his incredible capacity to learn and grow, he learned that he too could stand up and then he took his first step. Now he knows something new. I asked her if he still crawls around. She said, “No, only when he’s playing on the carpet with his cars.” He did what he knew until he knew something else.
I remember when Nancy and I used to read stories to our sons because they didn’t know how to read. They both listened intently, enjoying every page, even though one was four years younger. They were doing what they knew to do until they knew something different—how to read for themselves. One day our oldest son, Austin, asked if he could read to us. We were totally elated as he carefully stumbled through each word. Although they still enjoyed hearing us read to them, they both found out that there was even more to be enjoyed when they learned to read for themselves. After Austin read to us, he began reading to his brother, Geoffrey, and the cycle continued. They did what they knew until they knew something different.
I know that this is a simple explanation of growth and that each of us must travel along this growth path. Imagine if, as babies, we never learned to feed ourselves, walk, and talk. Imagine what we would be like if we stayed at the baby stage. Truthfully, it’s not possible to do this and survive. Without growth we would perish.
As Christians, growing in Christ is just as important as growing into an adult. The day of my second birth was incredible for sure. I knew, at that moment, that I was a new person and that my sins were forgiven. I knew that if I died that day, I would be ushered into God’s presence to take my place in heaven. That was all I knew, and yes, it was enough for the time being. But then I noticed that there was more to being a Christian, so much more. I watched as others began to immerse themselves in God’s Word; I saw the love, the joy, the strength, and the desire to share their faith with others. I witnessed the depth of their relationships with God The Father and with other Christians. So I began to grow in Christ, learning new things every day. When I say learning, I mean changing with every new nugget of knowledge.
If we are not changed when we learn, then we did not learn.
Hebrews 6:1 (NASB)
“Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity …”
Ephesians 4:15 (NLT)
“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”
I’m in a very unique situation where I get to witness children learning and changing all the time. What I find fascinating are the looks on their faces when they learn something new and it changes their hearts and the way they live. When they move from the baby stage as Christians into a deeper, stronger, more loving relationship with Christ. Even a child in Christ “does what they know to do, until they know something different.”
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
~Maya Angelou
If you are looking to grow and learn more about the Christian life, check out our fantastic Growth Track class.