There's something deeply unsettling about watching a plant that refuses to grow. You water it faithfully, ensure it gets adequate sunlight, and tend to it with care—yet it remains stubbornly the same size, week after week, month after month. Eventually, concern sets in. Growth, after all, is the natural evidence of life.
The same principle applies to our spiritual lives. When a believer doesn't grow, heaven becomes concerned.

The Problem of Spiritual Stagnation
The book of Hebrews addresses a community of believers who had become spiritually stagnant. These weren't people who lacked knowledge about God—they had learned about Christ, understood the basics of faith, and had experienced His goodness. But somewhere along the journey, they stopped pressing forward. They settled into a comfortable routine, content with what was familiar rather than pursuing transformation into Christ's image.
The writer pulls no punches: "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand" (Hebrews 5:11).
The issue wasn't ignorance—it was indifference. They had become dull of hearing, sluggish and apathetic in their spiritual walk. Like the Israelites in the wilderness who saw God's miracles yet refused to trust His promises, these believers were in danger of experiencing deliverance without discipleship.

The Myth of Knowledge-Based Maturity
One of the most dangerous misconceptions in Christian life is equating knowledge with maturity. We attend church services, participate in Bible studies, listen to podcasts, and read devotionals, accumulating information about God. We convince ourselves that knowing more equals spiritual growth.
But here's the uncomfortable truth: maturity is obedience-based, not information-based.
You can know what to do and still not do it. That's not maturity—that's spiritual infancy.
Hebrews 5:12-14 paints a vivid picture: these believers still needed milk when they should have been ready for solid food. They required constant spoon-feeding of basic gospel truths instead of learning to cut their own spiritual meat. The problem wasn't that they drank milk—it's that they never moved beyond it.

The Training Ground of Growth
Spiritual maturity doesn't happen automatically with time. The passage uses the word "trained," which in Greek relates to gymnasium—a place of intentional exercise. Growth requires spiritual discipline, consistent practice, and active engagement with God's Word.
Think about physical training. You don't become strong by watching workout videos or reading fitness books. Transformation happens when you actually lift the weights, run the miles, and push through the discomfort. Similarly, spiritual maturity develops through the consistent practice of applying God's truth to your daily life.
Trials, tribulations, and difficult seasons aren't obstacles to growth—they're often the very training grounds God uses to develop us. When we submit our hearts to Him in the midst of struggle, He works through the suffering to conform us more closely to the image of Christ.

The Equation for Growth
Spiritual growth can be understood through a simple equation: Growth = Obedience + Consistency + Surrender.
Obedience means doing what God asks, even when it's uncomfortable or counterintuitive. It's choosing His way over your preferences.
Consistency means showing up day after day, not just when you feel inspired or when circumstances are favorable. It's maintaining your spiritual disciplines through seasons of both abundance and drought.
Surrender means releasing control—of your plans, your timeline, your understanding of how things should unfold. It's giving God not just your heart, but your hands, your thoughts, your whole self.

Moving From Foundation to Mission
Hebrews 6:1 issues a clear call: "Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity."
This doesn't mean abandoning the foundations of faith—repentance, faith in God, baptism, resurrection, and judgment. Rather, it means building upon them. It means moving from simply knowing about God to actively partnering with Him in mission.
Salvation isn't the finish line; it's the starting point. Saying yes to Jesus launches you into a lifelong journey of transformation and purpose. Too many believers treat salvation like a destination when God intends it as a departure point.

The Danger of Proximity Without Perseverance
The Israelites in the wilderness stand as a sobering warning. They were in proximity to the Promised Land, standing at the very edge of breakthrough. They had witnessed miracle after miracle—the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, water from rocks. Yet when the moment came to step into what God had prepared for them, they chose fear over faith.
They experienced deliverance but refused discipleship. They wanted the benefits of God's presence without the surrender required to fully receive His promises.
How many of us live similarly? We stand at the threshold of what God wants to do in and through us, but we're unwilling to release what we're holding onto. We want transformation without change, growth without discomfort, fruit without pruning.

The Key You're Not Using
Here's a revolutionary truth: when Jesus died and rose again, the veil separating humanity from God's presence was torn in two. You have direct access to the throne of grace. No intermediary required. No waiting in line. No appointment necessary.
Yet so many believers refuse to use this access. We wait for the pastor to pray for us, for someone else to tell us what God is saying, for a worship experience to move us emotionally. We treat our relationship with God like a once-a-week appointment rather than the intimate, ongoing connection He desires.
God doesn't want you just on Sunday mornings. He wants you seven days a week. He paid the ultimate price not for partial access to your life, but for full relationship with you—heart, mind, thoughts, and hands.

Activity Without Intimacy
It's possible to serve God faithfully while growing distant from Him. You can sing on the worship team, volunteer in ministry, attend every church event, and still be spiritually malnourished.
Any activity without intimacy will always lead to burnout.
The Christian life isn't meant to be plagued by religious duty but characterized by loving obedience that flows from genuine relationship. When we stay connected to the Vine—when we abide in Christ—fruit production becomes natural. We begin to exhibit patience, self-control, kindness, goodness, and all the fruits of the Spirit not through striving but through surrender.

The Invitation to Greater
This isn't a message of condemnation but of invitation. God isn't done with you. Regardless of where you are in your spiritual journey—whether you're struggling, comfortable, or somewhere in between—He's calling you to greater.
Greater intimacy. Greater obedience. Greater fruitfulness. Greater transformation.
The promise of Hebrews 6:10 reminds us that "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him." Every act of obedience, every step of faith, every moment of surrender—God sees it all. Even when progress feels slow, His Spirit is at work within you.

A Call to Perseverance
The passage concludes with this encouragement: "We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised" (Hebrews 6:12).
Real maturity isn't flashy—it's fruitful. It's the steady, consistent faithfulness that endures through seasons of both blessing and testing. We don't persevere by our own grit but by God's grace. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

So let us—together—leave behind spiritual complacency and press forward into the fullness of what God has for us. Let us pursue depth in Christ, not just attendance. Let us cultivate hearts of obedience, not just heads full of knowledge. Let us draw near to Him, knowing that as we do, He draws near to us.

The invitation stands: It's time to grow.