Growing Up Isn't Leaving God
Faith that grows with you.
On carrying belief into adulthood.
The big idea
Your faith is supposed to change shape. Changing shape is not the same as breaking.
What does “Growing Up Isn't Leaving God” walk through?
Start Them On The Way
Proverbs 22:6 · KJV
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
In plain English
Start a child on the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not turn from it.
A Direction, Not A Cage
The proverb describes a trajectory, not a leash. Faith that only survives inside your parents' house was never yours to begin with — it was theirs, borrowed.
Ask For Wisdom
James 1:5 · KJV
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
In plain English
When you don’t know what to do, ask God for wisdom. He gives generously without shaming you.
“Owning your faith usually looks, for a while, like questioning it.”
Believing And Struggling
Mark 9:24 · KJV
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
In plain English
At once the boy's father cried out in tears: I believe — help me with my unbelief.
Both Can Be True
I believe, help my unbelief is not a contradiction God rejects. It is the honest sentence of someone growing up, and Jesus answered it.
Pray
God, let my faith grow up with me rather than get left behind. Amen.
Write it down
What part of your faith are you working out for yourself right now?
Still yours
Questions are not the exit. Often they are the door in.
Which passages does this journey use?
3 passages, drawn from Proverbs 22:6, James 1:5, Mark 9:24. Every verse appears here in the King James text with a plain-English line beside it, so you can read it without a commentary open. Allow about 6 minutes for the whole thing, or 7 short sittings.
- Proverbs 22:6
- James 1:5
- Mark 9:24
Read any of these in full on the complete KJV, or look the wording up independently at Blue Letter Bible.
More in Who You Are
All Who You Are →Before You Achieved Anything
Love that arrived first.
The Mirror And The Word
Two things telling you who you are.
Your Name Is Not Your Follower Count
Being known by God, not measured by numbers.
When You Don't Fit In
Belonging that does not require blending.
What You'd Say To Younger You
Grace, looking backwards.
Being Known And Still Loved
The fear underneath the hiding.