1 Corinthians 8:1

Knowledge puffs you up, but love builds you up!

“Some Christians grow, and others just swell,” a famous preacher use to say.

Our knowing Christ is not an amassing of information about Him. Rather it is a getting to know Him in order to, by His Spirit, become more like Him, indeed to become Him—Theosis!

Knowledge and love must grow together if we are to grow in Christ.

Knowledge without love becomes brutality.

Love without knowledge becomes so mushy that there is nothing solid to stand on or hold you up in times of difficulty.

Are you more loving than you were a year ago?

Another test might be to ask yourself, “Am I more understanding of people or less understanding than I was a year ago?”

I believe that when we truly grow in the knowledge of Christ, we become more compassionate, more understanding, because we see ourselves more clearly—on equal footing with all others before Christ.

The more knowledge we gain, the more superiority we tend to feel, or at a minimum we find that we have to fight harder against feelings of superiority creeping in–unless it is sincere growth in Christ, always with the view toward helping others to freedom.

Another measure is to ask, “Am I purer in heart than I was last year?”

Growth in Christ, becoming more like Him, is to grow in purity of heart. More and more you will see people through a loving lens, not seeing their flaws first, desirous of their good, even at the expense of your own perceived rights. And it will not feel like a herculean effort. This attitude will become more and more natural to you as you take on the Spirit of Jesus and as He freely flows through you.