by Nathan Jordan
This seems like a reasonable question: What do we mean by “healthy” and “growing” when we are talking about a follower of Jesus? We have already discussed why we think this is an important topic for those who would call themselves Christians. You can see that discussion in our previous post: “Why Talk About the Essential Ingredients of a Healthy, Growing Christian Life? (Series A, Part 1).”
Since we determined that there must be some sort of foundation or base-line aspect of following Jesus upon which a healthy or growing life is built, then we now need to stop and consider to what we mean when we say words like “healthy” and “growing” in talking about followers of Jesus.
To talk about a healthy and growing Christian life is not to be misunderstood as a measure of happiness or how “blessed” you are feeling at any given time. Our intention is to help us all think through the difference between periods of idleness or stagnant health in the life of the believer and periods of growth in depth of knowing God and walking ever more closely with him.
With regard to health, we hope to help distinguish between periods of health—where one seems to be growing closer to God, and then periods of unhealth—those periods marked by more frequent failures in sin and resulting distance from God. To get some perspective here, you could think of the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships with other people you have known throughout your life. When things are not going well, people seem to be “growing apart.” There is a greater distance there, and in the Christian life, that is “unhealthiness.” But when things are going well, their is more mutual understanding and a feeling of relational intimacy and growing comfort with one another.
Now we need an idea of what a “healthy” Christian is. A “healthy” (or at least healthier) Christian life is about a sense of flourishing or what we might call vatality that shows signs of growth. We are being careful not to conflate health with morality in the sense of rule-keeping or trying to look perfect on the outside. The latter is something that Jesus warned against and criticized frequently in the Gospels.
We are not ignoring that Paul wrote frequently about the right moral behaviors and choices that followers of Jesus ought to make. It would seem that someone who was healthy and flourishing as a Christian would, over time, need less and less of the kinds of moral corrections they needed at first. This person would become over time more invested in God’s mission to make disciples and less concerned with their own satisfaction. The Bible says things like, “Do nothing according to selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves; don’t look out for your own interests, but for the interestes of others: your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:3-5).
If we are becoming more healthy as we follow Jesus, we will want to help those who are far from God to know the love of the Father, to “seek and to save those who are lost” (Luke19:10). These type of concerns would gradually outweigh issues that prioritize the self and one’s own happiness or personal indulgences. As a follower of Jesus, health would be more about participating with God in his mission in the world by sharing and celebrating his goodness and his victory over sin, death, Satan, and hell.
Many will hear this and relate in some fashion to the difference being described here. It is sometimes called the difference between a carnal or backslidden Christian and a vibrant Christian. These terms carry a lot of baggage, and debates over terminology are not always as helpful as they are confusing. We are looking for a better way to approach the situation. We believe that talking about health and growth and the elements that are foundational or essential to those things is the best way to go.
Another question that we could ask might help to refine this idea: If we understand that someone has put their faith in Christ for salvation, then why do some Christians seem to be growing and healthy while others don’t? What is the difference between believing for salvation and the life that seems actively engaged with God and growing toward noticeable spiritual maturity?
This question does not have to do with personal “happiness.” The vibrant and thriving Christian life that is growing toward maturity can be sad; Christians can have hurt feelings, they can struggle through great challenges, and they can still encounter obstacles and trials through which they rely on God for help and perseverance. Dealing with those challenges that occur in life is not the topic we are addressing, but it is noted that the reality of circumstantial difficulty is not a barometer for relational health.
Here we want to make a case for some basic elements of the Christian lifestyle. We are going to talk about how the Christian can “get back to the basics” in a way that they are cooperating with the building up of their spiritual lives as a follower of Jesus who is both healthy and growing. These basics are like ingredients without which one cannot experience either health or growth. That is why we will be discussing what we will call the 3 Essential Ingredients of a Healthy Growing Christian Life.
One other note here: this is NOT meant to be a substitute for saving faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, one cannot engage in these “essential ingredients” in hopes that they will in some way earn favor in God’s sight or cause him to want to give you salvation. God has already offered his salvation, and it is available to you by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We have just gone over what we mean by “salvation.” For anyone who has not placed their faith in Jesus, that is the preeminent question with which they must engage.
Beginning to participate in these ingredients is a way to draw nearer to God and to learn about what it means to place your faith in Jesus. If you have not wrestled with your guilt before God and placed your faith in Jesus Christ alone for redemption from sin, then THAT is the topic upon which you need to focus.
We invite you to take an inventory of your standing before God prayerfully. Do you feel that you have a relationship with God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ? If you are not sure, you can contact me, Nathan, through this website and I would be happy to talk through any questions about this that you may have. If you are wanting to understand how to follow Jesus—if you want to incorproate they key factors of a normal Christian life and position yourself for growth and health, then please join me this series of posts about the 3 Essential Ingredients of a Healthy, Growing Christian Life.
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