During last year's Super

Bowl, FedEx ran a commercial that was a take-off of the movie "Cast

Away" starring Tom Hanks. Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company

plane crashed, leaving Hanks stranded on a desert island for years. The

Hanks-looking character in the commercial walks up to the door of a suburban

home, package in hand.

When the lady comes to the

door, the FedEx employee explains that he survived five years on a deserted

island, and during his entire time he kept this package in order to deliver

it to her. She takes the package and gives a simple, "Thank you."

His curiosity gets the best

of him, however, as he wonders what was in the package that he has guarded

so carefully for five years. He asks, "If I may ask, what was in

the package after all?"

She opens it and shows him

the contents, saying, "Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone,

a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds."

Like the contents in the package,

the resources for spiritual growth and personal enrichment are available

to every one of us if we'll take advantage of them. We need to understand

how spiritual growth works.

Spiritual growth is expected,

but not always pursued. God expects us to grow and develop. He doesn't

want us to remain as children, but to grow up. Unfortunately, too many

people grow old physically but do not grow up spiritually.

Spiritual growth is progressive

and never finished. Growth is not instant, but is a process that takes

time. We never arrive at maturity on this side of eternity. There is always

more to learn.

Spiritual growth is a partnership

between you and God. God does His part, but we must do our part. God's

part is working in us to shape us into the image of His Son Jesus. Our

part is to take seriously the disciplines and practices that assist our

progress.

Spiritual growth is not automatic,

but must be intentional. In "The Purpose Driven Life," Rick

Warren writes, "You must want to grow, decide to grow, make an effort

to grow, and persist in growing." We must desire growth enough to

want to feed our souls.

So how do we feed our souls

and make the effort to grow? We start with reading and studying the Bible.

God speaks to us and shapes our thinking through the truth of His living

Word, the Bible. The Bible is more than a bestseller, more than a collection

of stories, more than a doctrinal guidebook. The Bible is the spiritual

nurture that you must have to grow. Scripture refers to the Bible as our

spiritual milk and says that as newborn babes crave milk and nourishment,

we must desire the word of God so we can grow up.

Also, commit to a small Bible

study group. This is where you connect with people who know your name

and support you in time of need. This is where we lean on each other and

learn from each other.

In addition, as we learn God's

Word, we also must apply God's Word. Don't just read it. Do

it and implement it into your life. Also, practice prayer. Prayer is simple

conversation with God. Pour your heart out to God and then watch for God

to work in your life and circumstances.

Also, make corporate worship

a priority every Sunday you're in town. Worship should be more than

a Sunday morning option. It should be an every-week commitment. You'll

pick up a lot of spiritual nurture by sitting under the consistent preaching

and teaching of God's Word.

A man wrote a letter to the

editor of his newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to

church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now and in that

time I've heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of

me, I can't remember a single one of them. So I think I'm wasting

my time."

Several days later, a reader

responded with this letter: "I've been married for 30 years

now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life

of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals.

But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me strength I needed

to live that day. If my wife had not given me those meals, I would be

much weaker today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment,

I would be much weaker today."

We pick up more than we think

we do, don't we? As you grow older physically, what are you doing

to grow up spiritually?

(Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor

of McDonough Road Baptist Church, 352 McDonough Road in Fayetteville.

Join them this Sunday for Bible study at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 10:55

a.m.)

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