I read a book not too long ago called Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer that I would recommend to anybody who has ever wrestled with the idea of purpose and overall calling in life. One of the key insights in the book deals with a way of thinking that is second nature for those of us who live in technologically advanced cultures. We live in a time where we make things happen. In America we have a manufacturing mindset. In the last century or so we have seen a major upswing in manufacturing and a significant downturn in agricultural society.

Because we have this manufacturing mindset, I believe we have inherited some significant challenges when it comes to our spiritual journey. There are a lot of things that you can just make happen. There are a lot of things that you can manufacture but we need to understand where this way of thinking falls short. You can’t make spiritual growth happen. You can’t make true intimacy between a husband and wife happen. You can’t make your calling just happen either. I think it’s interesting that we often refer to sex as “making” love.

For most human beings that have lived before us, there was another way of looking at things. Things used to be grown. A calling in life was grown. The spiritual journey was grown and intimacy between friends and spouses was grown. Even looking through the gospels we find Jesus using agrarian parables to relate to his listeners.

Why is this important? When you begin to understand that the most important things in life are grown and not made, it changes your approach. Growing things takes time and seasons. It takes different elements and a lot of patience. You can’t grow anything significant overnight but if you understand the process and engage in it correctly, it can be an extremely fruitful endeavor.

As Christians we need to understand that life is all about growth. God is the Master Gardener and he understands what spiritual maturity looks like. He has perfect insight into the soil that is our hearts and how to cultivate that soil. There are rocks and impurities that have to be removed before certain seeds can be planted. There are elements and things around us that must be broken down if God is going to grow us as he desires to.

Growth is a complicated and long process. In our manufacturing culture we get very impatient when we can’t have what we want right away. It may sound disappointing to you but that type of mentality is simply not realistic.

What would it look like for you to shift your mentality away from “making” and towards “growing?” How would that apply to you?