When you think of moving upward in your Christian life, what do you think of? Being on a worship team in your church? Being a teacher of a large class at church? Being selected as a deacon? Those are all good goals, but they are not necessarily what the Bible teaches about moving up spiritually.
To begin with, a lot of what determines your upward spiritual progress depends upon your relationship with others. In particular, your response to others’ reactions to you. An unknown author said, “If the criticism is untrue, disregard it; if unfair, do not be irritated about it; if justified, learn from it.” It is amazing how someone can criticize you and ruin your entire day. They may say that you are too loud. Or that you talk too much. That they do not like your shirt or your blouse. It does not matter what they criticize, the point is, that if ruins your day. Putting the above quote into daily practice can make all the difference in the world. If the criticism is false, then just forget it. If they do not know all the details, don’t let it bother you. And if true, make the necessary changes so that it does not happen again.
Hebrews 10:24 explains what you are to do after you evaluate your criticisms. It says, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and do good deeds.” You are to take what others say, then take those comments, and you are to “consider.” Consider means for you to think. What are you to think upon? “How to stimulate one another to love and do good deeds.” You are to help encourage other believers “to love” and to do “good deeds.”
You move upward spiritually in your church and among Christians by being an encourager for them to love, as Jesus loved, and to do good deeds, as Jesus did. Jesus is your model. Focus on helping others move upward!
