“Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
Isn’t it amazing that Jesus was the Son of God, yet He still had to grow in wisdom? He had to grow up in the way He thought about things. The Greek word for “to grow” means to drive forward, to advance, to increase, to proceed.
If we want to become mature believers, we have to start getting away from having others think for us. There are too many people who are simply air-head Christians, mindless in their Christianity. They don’t think about what they’re doing or how to grow. They just go to church and then go home.
Think about this: Jesus didn’t do anything by accident. He thought through everything He was going to do, and then He did it with wisdom. There needs to be part of our mind and heart that is constantly seeking to grow.
If we are going to seek to be like Jesus, we have to do the things He’s doing.
That’s growing in wisdom. We should always be increasing in our wisdom. You don’t have to be old to be wise. Wisdom comes from doing things God’s way. Wisdom is knowing the way that God would want something done, and doing it appropriately, even it if seems illogical or unimportant to the world.
Wisdom is going against the way we would naturally think and the way we would naturally do things, and saying, “God, I want to find out the way you think about this situation so I can do it accordingly.” I’ve talked to some young people who by their words they demonstrate an incredible amount of wisdom. It doesn’t matter how old you are. What matters is your eagerness to dive in, get wisdom, and apply it to the way you think and live.
Make a decision that no matter what age you are, you’re going to be one of the people who determines to drive forward…to increase…to advance in the wisdom that you are beginning to walk in so you don’t keep making the same mistakes.
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Ron Luce was the co-founder and president of Teen Mania Ministries from 1986-2015. Ron and his wife Katie dreamed to raise young people who would change the world.
Ron received his bachelor's degree in Psychology and Theology from Oral Roberts University and his master's in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tulsa, along with an honorary doctorate from Jerry Falwell of Liberty University. He is a sought-after speaker who has traveled to more than 60 countries and has made numerous media appearances, such as Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio broadcast, CNN, The O'Reilly Factor, ABC Nightline, The 700 Club, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and the Sean Hannity Show. Ron has also written 35 books for teens, youth pastors, and parents and continues to speak at leaders' conferences helping parents and pastors understand the plight of today's youth and showing them how all of us can be part of the solution.
Ron and Katie currently live in Garden Valley, Texas, with their son Cameron. They have two daughters, Hannah and Charity.