[G]row in the grace and knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
—2 Peter 3:18
Have you been back to your old hometown lately? Not the same as it was, is it?
I was recently in two towns where I once lived.
One is a vibrant, up-n-at-’em community. I remember when 34th Street was as far south as the city went. Now it’s solidly built out beyond 134th Street.
The other is a small town that was once a humming hamlet, with the main drag housing a block of booming businesses. All are now boarded up; not a single business on the block.
I felt pride and pain. Neither is the same place it used to be.
And I’m not the same person I was when I lived there.
Places and people change—for better or worse.
Are you pleased with the way you’ve changed? Is God?
There’s no standing still.
You’re growing or shrinking.