Some things go together. For instance, consider these sayings:

  • You could have knocked me over with a feather.
  • These hemorrhoids are a real pain.
  • He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
  • I can read him like the back of my hand.
  • It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Unfortunately, some things don’t go together. Take, for instance, these misguided comments:

  • You could have knocked me over with a fender.
  • These hemorrhoids are a real pain in the neck.
  • He’s a wolf in cheap clothing.
  • I can read him like the back of my book.
  • It’s like looking for a needle in a hayride.

Some things go together and some things don’t. Sometimes, the connection is obvious. Sometimes, it isn’t. Take last week’s core strength, for instance: “We are called to grow.” Now, as core strengths go, it is rather straightforward and uncontroversial. If there was any doubt, 2 Peter 3:18 sets the record straight: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” As I said, this is rather straightforward. Entering the Kingdom, only to stay by the front door, is not an option. We are called to grow. So now, the question before us is, how should we grow? Here are a few suggested answers and a question: Which of these go together and which don’t. You decide:

  • We grow as we invest ourselves in mastering the Bible
  • We grow as we invest in retreat and contemplation
  • We grow as we invest in correct theology
  • We grow as we invest in worship and praise
  • We grow as we invest in giving ourselves away

Some things go together. Some things don’t. In our opinion, the first four don’t go together at all, but the last one fits together perfectly. We don’t grow by taking in. We grow by giving ourselves away.  Now, when we take in, we may grow in knowledge and in mastery of complex theological subjects, but that should never be confused with spiritual growth. It is only when we give ourselves away in service to others that we grow in spiritual maturity. Some things go together; and for us, these two statements define what it means to grow in grace. 

Here’s how we define what it means to give ourselves away:

  • I am much more in tune today with God’s call and my giftedness.
  • I am, by God’s grace, growing in humility and servanthood.
  • I am involved in a significant ministry that I am passionate about.
  • I am giving freely of my time, talent and treasure to advance the kingdom of God.
  • My focus in doing good works is to glorify God, not to promote myself.
  • I am learning to live in a daily conscious partnership with God.

By now you know the process, so let’s get to work. Here are three reminders.

Some things go together, like SURVEY and PRAY.Evaluate how you are doing in each of these six areas compared to last year and give yourself a numerical value for each item. If you have lost ground, give yourself a one. If you are stagnated, give yourself a two. If you are growing slowly, give yourself a three. If you are growing, give yourself a four.  And if you are discovering new breakthroughs, give yourself a five.

Pray that God would lead you through this process and reveal to you how you are doing in giving yourself away. Let God reinforce your strengths and show you your growth areas. Receive both with thanksgiving. 

Some things go together, like SELECT and DETECT.

Pick two of the six categories for you to work on this week and write them down in a prominent place. 

Pray that God would give you opportunities to work on these two items this week. 

Then, as you go throughout your week, detect those opportunities that God has prepared for you to put these two items into practice. Your job is to be actively looking for every open door and every good opportunity to apply these two skills. We believe that God is at work here. Paul tells us that we are God’s handiwork, created to do good works “which God has prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). The opportunities are out there. Our job is to find them. Go into all the world and detect those God-given door-openings. 

Some things go together, like EMBODY and EMBRACE.

Here is the crucial moment. When you see these opportunities before you, you must step out in faith and embody these skills. You have kept these two items in the foreground of your thinking all week.  You have prayed about investing yourself in these traits. You have been looking for any opportunity that God may have given you. You are anticipating that God will show up in a dramatic way. Now, when the door is opened, your job is to jump through it. Don’t hesitate unnecessarily; act. As an act of faith, put your two chosen items into practice. And when you do, give thanks to God that he is working in and through you so that you can grow in these two skills. Give thanks that God has given you the opportunity to give yourself away in service to others. 

But our task is not just to embody today’s two principles, but to embrace a lifestyle of service. So, seek ways to practice these two line-items, but also look for new ways to put the FOUR items from the previous weeks into action. According to our strategy, now is the time to choose one of the two items you were working on last week to continue developing.  If you are on track, this week you will be focusing on four items from the first four weeks of our study (grace, love, outreach and growth) and the two items from this week (we grow as we give ourselves away). That means that this week we will be looking for opportunities to put a total of six spiritual skills into action.

One last thought before we rush off to detect those opportunities that God is going to give us. It is from John Mark Comer, an author of several books on spiritual formation. He gives us this solid advice:

“There is a kind of spiritual law to the universe: To possess God, we must give him away. As the missionary Frank Laubach said it, ‘I must talk about God, or I cannot keep Him in my mind. I must give Him away in order to have Him.’ Here’s the danger, if we don’t give ourselves away, our faith will devolve to a private, individualized coping therapy and our spirituality will wither on the vine.”

Here’s what I think—wise insights and good advice always go together just as growing and giving ourselves away. 

The time is now. Go and detect all that God wants to do in your life.