A recent article in the Australian Geographic tackled the hot topic of fingernail growth, which admittedly, was rather nail-biting stuff! How fast do they grow? Answer: Slower than a snail. Slower even than a glacier; but faster than your toenails apparently. One tenth of a millimeter per day. Roughly two millimeters every three weeks. Approximately three millimeters per month. That’s slow, even for healthy cuticles and lunulas. But how wise, for who wants to be cutting their fingernails three times a day!

I’m not sure how fast a Christian grows, according to the measurements of sanctification, but it might be comparable to that of fingernails. Steady, progressive, cumulative, but slow. Which frustrates some Christians who want to fast-track out of things like anger and envy and pride and discontent. But surely an encouragement to all Christians to appreciate that, though slower than desired, there is expected and gradual growth in those precious things like patience and self-control.

Why is it, that God has not made sanctification an accelerated experience? Because growth often comes by means of trials, and God in his wisdom chooses not to bombard us with a barrage of them, without pacing and spacing them carefully. (A rapid bombardment happened, you remember, to Job, but thankfully that experience was both unique and for a different purpose.) Increments of trials bring increments of holiness that in turn bring increments of love; and though falling suddenly in love is wonderful, growing steadily in love is better.