Life comes with many milestones and accomplishments – achievements that mark our successful mastery. But while there’s a sense in which we can rest in these triumphs, we should not assume that we’ve arrived and have nothing left to learn. To be sure, we should be getting progressively better throughout our life and relationships.
Of course, we congratulate a student for successfully passing his current grade. But there’s a reasonable expectation for him to continue on to the next. And there’s still much for him to learn even after graduation.
The same is true for us as well. It’s a mistake to assume that just because we’ve arrived at a certain stage in life that we’ve done all the learning and growing we need to do.
For instance, the decision to get married is a huge milestone and one not to take lightly. At the same time, our wedding day is still just the very beginning of us learning each other and how to grow progressively better in our life together. And we set ourselves up for much disappointment when we’re not consistently seeking to improve.
The same can be said of our sex life. While it’s only natural to settle into our comfortable rhythms, our sexual stewardship calls for us to continue deepening this part of our life as well – growing ever richer and sweeter over the years.
Likewise, there should also be clear improvements in the quality of our work over time. Even once we’ve reasonably mastered our particular niche, we don’t settle. Rather, we continue to expand and sharpen, cultivate and refine the gifts that God has given us.
Whatever it looks like, we’re committed to a life of becoming progressively better. This is not the pride of chasing one accomplishment after another, but simply the humble stewardship of growing whatever God has given us to its fullest.
In the end, celebrate the ground you’ve covered. And don’t grow complacent. Be a wise and faithful steward – becoming progressively better at whatever God has given you to do.
Photo by Fabian Centeno on Unsplash
