DEEP ROOTS, LASTING FRUIT

I don’t know about you, but I find that birthdays are often a day when people celebrate you, your life, your story, your presence, with joy, fun, laughter, and sometimes, if you’re really lucky, gifts. But long before the candles were lit or the cakes were made, God was already celebrating what an incredible gift you are to the world.

Each birthday marks another year added to your life, and we often measure this in numbers. But God invites us to think about growth in a different way. In Luke 2:52, we read that Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” 

To me, that means even Jesus didn’t just grow older; he also grew in character, in wisdom, and in relationship with God.

Last week was my birthday, and it got me thinking. What if, instead of simply becoming a year older, I placed a dot between the digits? Then this year, it would be like stepping into a new version of myself, rather than an older version of myself. Not because there was anything wrong with the previous version, but because there’s always room to grow.

So, with that mindset, I’ve started to look at the year ahead in terms of “upgrades” and what areas of my life need strengthening, and what habits or attitudes might need to be made obsolete.

As we enter into term three, it might not be your birthday, but it could be a good time to ask yourself: over this term, how am I growing, and what is God shaping in this next version of me?