Don’t Settle for a Mint When You Need a Meal

You’re growing up—but are you growing deeper? Discover the one habit that could change your life more than any growth spurt ever could.

As Luke finishes up this scene about Jesus’ one recorded event as a youth, he includes this eye-opening description: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people” (Luke 2:52). In simple terms, Luke informs us that Jesus experienced more than physical growth. At your age, you are used to older people who don’t see you all the time, remarking about how much you’ve grown since the last time you saw them. If it’s been a while and you’ve recently experienced a growth spurt, they may seem relentless in informing you that you are growing if you somehow became unaware.

What if people saw growth in you that couldn’t be recorded on a doctor’s chart? Suppose they saw a difference in you that was more than height or build. Just imagine that you were growing in wisdom so much that others noticed. Consider what others might think if your level of understanding the truth was so impressive but paled in comparison to how well you applied it in your life. More than beliefs to accept, you prioritized behaviors to adapt. Your changes were so observable that God and others couldn’t help but notice. Your commitment to obedience brought glory to God and good to others. 

That type of growth doesn’t happen by accident. You have nothing to do with growing in stature, but you have much to say about if you will develop in wisdom. Where can you find it? “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Prov. 2:6). God gives us the wisdom that we need through the Bible, which comes directly from him (2 Tim. 3:16).

Jesus taught that we must become dependent upon Scripture, which are the words that come from the very mouth of God (Luke 4:4). That’s why you can’t grow apart from the Bible. You can try, and you might have limited success but nothing long-lasting. The danger for students your age is to receive hints of truth from others without learning how to get them directly from God’s Word.

If you haven’t been a regular student of God’s Word but experienced some spiritual growth, it is because someone was teaching you Scripture. The power wasn’t in the setting, situation, or speaker but in Scripture. We can explain why your growth has seemed unreliable if it has yet to take off. You most likely never committed to a regular diet of God’s Word.

Maybe you read someone’s devotional. Perhaps you watched a video online from a Christian influencer. But without your commitment to come to the table yourself, you are simply snacking while a feast is available. If your Bible intake is reading a single verse here or seeing a social media post there, it’s like taking a breath mint. It will freshen you up for the next interaction but cannot satisfy your hunger for the long haul. You need something more. That’s why when the devil tempted the Messiah, Jesus quoted Scripture he had put to memory years before. “Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4; cf. Deut. 8:3). Don’t settle for a mint when you need a meal.

If you wouldn’t travel in the dark without a light, why would you attempt to navigate this world without God’s Word, which is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Ps. 119:105)? No serious warrior would approach the battlefield without a sword in hand, so we should not navigate the conflicts in our lives without the Word of God as our steady offense (Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17). In a world where trends pass so quickly, why wouldn’t you ground yourself in God’s Word which never passes away (Matt. 24:35; Isa. 40:8)?