What is Personal Development for Christians?

What is the meaning of personal growth in a Christian context?

Christians are in the process of being changed into the image of Christ, from glory to glory [2 Corinthians 3:18].


Surely that means that Christians are making upward progress, that they are growing and developing? In fact, it does not. It means that we are being reduced, while He becomes greater – as in the words of John the Baptist [John 3:30].


Are we playing with words for the sake of argument?

The answer is no. Humanistic psychology, which affects Christians through its influence in entertainment, education, politics and commerce, would have us believe that we should aspire to our highest potential – to become the best, and most successful, that we can be.


We need to replace the reign of self with the reign of Christ”


The problem, as the Bible sees it, is that we are already too full of ourselves. We need to replace the reign of self with the reign of Christ. We need humbling.


The apostle Paul had this experience.

Early in his ministry he called himself the least of the apostles [1 Corinthians 15:9].


Later, he called himself less than the least of all the saints [Ephesians 3:8].


And towards the end of his life he called himself the worst sinner in the world [1 Timothy 1:15].


As the apostle Paul grew in faith he saw himself as less and less.


When we study the lives of God’s people who have made progress in the spiritual life, we note that what marks them is the recognition that they are fading out of the picture, while Jesus Christ takes the foremost place.


This should make sense of the words of Jesus when He said that unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains a single seed, but if it dies it will bring forth much fruit [John 12:24-25].