“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,“ Hebrews 6:1, NIV

I love to write, but I understand that my love of writing does not mean I know everything there is to know about it. So, I recently took a class on a Saturday to learn how to improve my writing instruction skills. As I was listening to the presenter, I had an epiphany: no matter how much we love something, love alone does not automatically make us an expert on the subject. Loving something is simply a motivation to learn more.

As I was pondering this thought, I began to think of our love for Christ as believers. As new Christians, we fall in love with Christ as our Best Friend, our Redeemer, and our Savior. But sometimes we tend to get stuck focusing only on the qualities of Christ we admire and ignore the qualities that challenge our flesh. However, this does not lead to growth in Christ—it only leads to stagnation.

Today’s verse makes it clear that we must have a constant forward momentum that is moving us to a deeper understanding of who Christ is and the plans He has for our lives. As Christians, our love for Him serves as the catalyst that creates the desire in us to move beyond the fundamental teachings about Christ and into maturity in Christ.

Father, We pray our love for You and Your Word continues to grow and increase, causing us to want to learn more about You. We pray this translates not only into a deeper understanding of Your will for our lives, but also a desire to live in that will. Amen.

Copyright Katina Wetter-Wright.

Katina is a Christian Educators member and an elementary school teacher from Indiana. In addition to teaching, she runs a blog, Reflections of a Believer, and wrote a book, The First 30 Days: A Challenge to Change Your Mind and Revolutionize Your Eternal Destiny.