Paths to Contemplation - 33

Chapter 8 - Stages of Spiritual Growth

Can we grow spiritually?

When I ask, “Can we grow spiritually,” most people would respond with a resounding yes.  But the matter is not as straightforward as it may seem at first glance.

We must first declare what we mean by “spiritual growth.”  Does this mean that we become more considerate of our neighbors, more honest is our business dealings, and more generous with our contributions to charity?  Is spiritual growth something that we can measure, and, if so, how do we measure it?  Is it something that others will observe and about which they will comment, “My, how you’ve grown spiritually since I first met you”?

To begin to answer the question “Can we grow spiritually,” we must remember what our ultimate goal remains: union with God in love through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We are to enter into the life of God.  We are to undergo “divinization,” as the process is called in Eastern Orthodox theology.  

Of course creatures will always remain creatures.  We do not become the equal of God, nor do we become God as Jesus Christ was truly God, having both divine and human natures.  We are, however, to be incorporated into the life of God by the power of God as much as creatures can share in the life of God so that we can know God, see God face to face, know God as God knows himself because we will be like God.

As noted earlier, we cannot bring this result about by our own power.  We cannot bootstrap ourselves into the life of God.  Only God can bring about this transformation in us, and it is that transformation, and only that transformation, that constitutes true spiritual growth.  We now see that we can grow spiritually, but it is God who enables us to grow spiritually.  Our role is to accept God’s invitation to divine union and to be open to God’s transforming grace.   This process begins at some point in our lifetimes and probably continues in heaven after we die since a finite creature can continue to grow indefinitely into the life of the infinite God.

It is self-evident that there can be substantial time between the beginning and end of this process.  Only Jesus was fully spiritually mature from the beginning of his life to his death because Jesus was, and always will remain, the only human being, unique in all of history, who had a complete and perfect union with God from his birth to his death and beyond.  The rest of us take time to mature spiritually.  And, as is the case with physical as well as intellectual growth, obstacles and handicaps can arise along our way that stunt our growth and delay us in reaching our full potential.

We ought not be surprised that spiritual growth is a process rather than something that happens to us full-blown when we are converted.  Even St. Paul did not immediately present himself to the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem as one called by Christ himself, but, instead, he first went on a long retreat to try to sort things out and let the power of God prepare him for the work God was to give him.  A sign of the authenticity of Paul’s conversion was his unwillingness to see himself as someone prepared at the outset to be an apostle.  He realized that his work and his soul needed a time of preparation.

As humans, we come into the world as helpless infants and go through many stages as we physically mature.  As humans, we come into the world knowing little, relying on our basic instincts.  Our minds mature as we grow older.  Learning is a process that, if taken seriously, requires time and hard work.  Persons who go on to advanced degrees can spend a decade or more in school from kindergarten to post-graduate studies.

Our physical growth requires food and proper care for us to prosper and grow into mature old age.  Our intellectual growth requires education and the exercise of our minds if we are to avoid mental stagnation.  Spiritual growth likewise takes time and effort.  Perhaps the main purpose of our lives is to give us time to come to spiritual maturity.