It is God’s desire for you and me to grow. It’s His desire for us to mature, to flourish, to live an abundant life. It’s not his desire for us to get stuck. He didn’t create us to roam the earth endlessly and aimlessly for 80 to 90 years and then die. God’s plan for our lives is to continue to bear fruit even in our old age. He came to give us life, abundant life. So many of us are not living abundant lives, instead are languishing. As believers, spiritual growth is not an option, it’s the expectation that comes with the cross. Salvation is a free gift to us but it comes with an expectation – because God wants us to mature.