Do You Want to Be a Mushroom or an Oak Tree?

by Rick Warren — January 25, 2019

“Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:24 NLT).

When God wants to remove the defects in your life, he doesn’t just snap his fingers so that it happens instantly. He does it incrementally. You’ve heard me say this before: When God wants to make a mushroom, he takes six hours, but when God wants to make an oak tree, he takes 60 years.

So, do you want to be a mushroom or an oak tree?

The Holy Spirit will make changes in your life far beyond anything you thought was possible, but they’re not going to happen overnight. My prayer for you is that through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God and with support from other believers like the people in your small group, you will be more mature, more Christlike, and further along in your purpose 10 years from today.

I pray that in 10 years, you will be stronger emotionally, physically, spiritually, psychologically, and financially, but you’ve got to be intentional about it. The Bible says, “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:24 NLT).

This is how we become more like Jesus. The apostle Paul says, “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him” (2 Corinthians 3:18 TLB).

Talk It Over

  • What Christlike traits do you need to take on so God can work on you incrementally?
  • How does God’s Word help you grow stronger in every area of your life?
  • What does becoming more like Jesus have to do with your purpose?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.