Seeing Growth through God's Eyes

Posted by: Brittany Riva, Program Director | Thursday, January 15th, 2026 ( 6:00am)

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.—Philippians 3:10-14 

My youngest is starting to learn animal sounds. You know, “What does a dog say?” Woof. “What does a cat say?” Meow. She gets it right about half the time. Sometimes she just laughs back at us. You know what though? I don’t ever get mad at her for trying. I’m not disappointed that she can’t perfectly mimic the sound of a dog. I’m just thrilled she’s trying. I LOVE that I get to teach her, and I know she is growing, learning, and taking it all in. 

If I’m honest, we’re all kind of like my daughter; constantly working to perfect areas we want to get better at. I mean, I feel like I could fill an entire notebook with things I need to do to be a better wife, mom, co-worker, and friend. I could fill 100 notebooks with areas I would like to grow in my walk with Jesus! But sometimes, I forget that it can take time and a lot of mistakes for that growth to take place.

Philippians 3:10-14 is my “life verse.” My centering point. My mission. When things feel crazy and I have no idea where I’m going, I look back on these verses to check myself. Am I living in a way that is in pursuit of really “knowing the power” of Christ? To “take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me?”

I have always read this as a state of constant straining towards perfection (I mean, “straining toward what is ahead” is even in the passage!). But God’s Word doesn’t return empty, and His Spirit is at work in me. So, when I read the passage, THIS time you know what I see? My daughter, fumbling through and incorrectly responding that a horse says “argghaaa.” I see my heavenly Father seeing me just as I see her; recognizing my desire to learn and grow and giving me gentle correction when I stumble along the way. I see Him looking at me as a beloved child, not as someone who isn’t doing enough, hasn’t accomplished enough, or isn’t getting there fast enough. Just as I don’t view my daughter this way, my Father doesn’t view His children this way either.

So maybe instead of being frustrated that I haven’t mastered being a mom, or a wife, or the “ideal Christian” (which, let’s be real...we are all sinners saved by grace being conformed into Christ’s likeness by HIS work, not ours), I’m going to return to this passage in Philippians. And when I find myself worried that God’s upset with my slow progress, I will remember that while He is always watching, He’s not frustrated that I haven’t mastered it yet. He is pleased—pleased that I’m trying to learn from Him, pleased that I’m trying to take it all in, pleased that I want to grow. Because when I trust in my Father’s love for me, it is then that I will let go of the straining toward perfection and surrender to the process of becoming who I already am in Christ.