Faith Steps

When my son was very young I gave him a trike to pedal around on. At first he went really slow and was very cautious, but the more he rode it, the faster he wanted to go. Eventually he was so good at riding his trike that he wanted to step up to a two-wheeled bike with training wheels.
 
The first time he got on it his sisters stared in amazement. He was a little intimidated by it, but he was determined to ride. I stood next to him and reassured him that he could do it. He sat on the seat and began to pedal. And for a few weeks he rode around happy as could be. But then he got the itch to take the training wheels off. Again he was timid because it was just him and two wheels. I couldn’t ride it for him, I couldn’t work the pedals, I could just support him and help him get his balance. This time there would be no crutch, no extra support, just a sweet hand me down sweet blue Huffy. Ultimately he had to decide whether to pedal ahead or hit the brakes.
 
As soon as the training wheels came off, Josh swung his leg over the frame and put one foot on the pedal. I was behind him helping him get his balance and my wife was 10 feet in front of him with open arms reassuring him that he could pedal to her. With a little push he pedaled, wobbling back and forth, eventually making it to his mother. We did this over and over lengthening the gap between his mother and I until he was able to ride on his own. By the end of the day he was riding in circles all by himself and has never looked back. 
 
The same is true in our spiritual life. We need to move from just knowing about Jesus to actually taking responsibility to grow closer to him. “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” 1 Peter 2:1-3.
 
There is a big difference between standing still and making progress. You are responsible to keep making progress with your faith. You determine if it grows or plateaus. God is always willing to help you, but it’s up to you to let Him. Take one step closer to the cross today.