SPIRITUAL
GROWTH; LONGING FOR GOD; CHRISTLIKENESS

At the root of all true spiritual growth is a set of right and sanctified desires. The whole Bible teaches that we can have whatever we want badly enough if, it hardly need be said, our desire is according to the will of God. The desire after God and holiness is back of all real spirituality, and when that desire becomes dominant in the life nothing can prevent us from having what we want. The longing cry of the God-hungry soul can be expressed in the five words of the song, “Oh, to be like Thee!” While this longing persists there will be steady growth in grace and a constant progress toward Christlikeness.

Romans 8:5–7; Romans 8:28–30; Colossians 3:1–4

The Root of the Righteous, 132.