By Pastor Ryan Stockstrom

Harvest Church

Just like winning the lottery would show visible signs in someone’s life, having an authentic relationship with Jesus produces evidence that something has happened.

Changes occur spiritually which, by the power of the Holy Spirit, begin to show up in our day-to-day lives.

So, how do we grow?

Theologians use the terms Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification to describe our growth process in Christ.

The first—Justification—happens by the amazing work of God.

When we put our faith in Christ, we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We receive Christ’s righteousness and are declared by the Bible to be “saints,” “chosen and dearly loved by God.” The moment we fully trust in Christ, God declares us righteous through faith in Him. This is not a work of our own—it’s what God declares to be true about us. Because of this, our destiny is sealed in heaven with God.

The third term—Glorification—refers to what happens when we enter eternity and see Jesus face to face.

1 John 3:2 (NIV) says, “But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” At that moment, whatever sin has beset you, whatever ailments you’ve struggled with in your body, whatever worries and fears you’ve encountered in life will be completely and totally done away with. Even death will be defeated, because you’ll be eternally in the presence of the King—and He will wipe away every tear. Your growth and spiritual maturity will be complete. You’ll be “as He is.” That will be mind-blowing and amazing.

In the meantime, we are in process.

This process is called Sanctification—the slow but real work of becoming more and more like Jesus while still here on earth. It involves hard things: turning away from sin—things we know are wrong according to God’s standards in the Bible. It also involves treating people the way Jesus would—also hard work. While we’ll never be 100% like Christ on this earth, we can make progress, because the very Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is working, living, and moving inside all who have truly believed and accepted Jesus as their Savior.

Here are two simple ways to engage in the sanctification process:

1. Cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

As God points things out to you—from Scripture, from others speaking into your life, or from the internal witness of His Spirit nudging you—choose to agree with Him. Pre-decide to say “yes” to the leadings of God. Obedience is like the nitrogen of spiritual growth: the faster we say “yes,” the faster we grow.

2. Invest!

Let’s say you went to a conference, a get-together, or a work party and met someone amazing. What would you do? If you wanted the relationship to grow, you’d call them, text them, or follow up somehow! If you do nothing, the relationship won’t grow at all.

It’s the same with our walk with God. If you’ve “tasted” the goodness of God, it’s time to invest. Invest in spending time with Him in prayer and reading Scripture. Don’t know where to start? Try the Gospel of John—it’s all about Jesus. From there, find yourself a Bible-teaching church. There are a lot of good options out there.

Invest in your walk with Christ—you’ll grow, and it will pay dividends of life to you in the future.