One word: Pursue

Life is a journey. When we stop, things don't go right. (Pope Francis)

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. (Colossians 3:1-2)

Act like it - a behavior change is required, is it not? When we embrace this life in Christ, there is to be evidence of having a life change. How is this change manifest? We embrace or pursue the things that were once foreign to us. In other words, we stop being so absorbed with the things of this world and we ask God for a change of focus. We want to be open to the things God is doing, but there are times we are so absorbed in the things going on around us in this world, we forget to get his perspective.

All of this life with Christ is really defined by one word: PURSUE. At first, we are pursued by God. As we embrace the life of grace offered through Christ, we begin to pursue him. Our immediate response may be to just follow his path because it is pleasant, and things seem to be changing for the better. After a bit, the challenge to pursue is a little harder - things don't seem to be changing at as rapid of a pace in our lives, so we may get a little bogged down. It was great while that immediate 'thrill' of pursuit was there, but now that it is getting harder, the investment greater, we are challenged a bit in our pursuit.

As Pope Francis reminds us, we cannot stop just because the journey is hard, or it isn't moving at the same pace as before. Growth is sometimes rapid-fire, but at others, it is slow, tedious, and even a bit of a struggle. A plant begins by putting down one main root, then it puts of littler ones. At the same time, a stem begins to struggle to the surface, leaves begin to appear, and then more leaves. The first two leaves soon fall away, no longer needed because the 'permanent growth' is beginning to appear. 

It is oftentimes like than when God asks us to grow in a certain area. We put down one root, let some other smaller ones develop, seeing immediate signs of 'new life', but then it seems to take forever for the other 'leaves' to grow. Life takes time - change is occurring, but the pace has just changed. The plant doesn't just stop growing because it has a few 'first leaves'. It puts down more roots, digging in a bit deeper, and sending all that it receives by those roots to the parts that need growth. God does the same in us - we pursue (send down roots), he nourishes, and we put forth new growth. Don't ever stop the pursuit because you are never going to see the fullness of growth if you do. Just sayin