"And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more." (1 Thessalonians 4:10)

It is not enough merely to be saved; the babe in Christ should grow into Christian maturity. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2). The babe will grow on milk for a time, but soon he needs more. "For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Hebrews 5:13-14).

Nor is it enough just to grow in knowledge of God’s Word, though this is vital. In our text, Paul was commending the Thessalonians for the evidence of Christian love in their lives. But then he urged them to "increase more and more." "I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment" (Philippians 1:9).

Like the Thessalonians, our faith also needs to grow. "Your faith groweth exceedingly," Paul wrote (2 Thessalonians 1:3). The apostles "said unto the Lord, Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5), and this could well be our prayer, too.

We ought also to be growing in grace. The very last word of the apostle Peter, before his martyrdom, was this: "Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). One measure of grace is the grace of giving and, as Paul urged the Corinthians, "see that ye abound in this grace also" (2 Corinthians 8:7).

Unlike our physical life, we ought never to stop growing in our spiritual life. Our measure cannot be less than that of "a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we . . . may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:13-15). HMM