Depth

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
Spiritual Formation Pastor

One of the things that many Christians seem to be desiring is greater depth in their faith and relationship with Jesus. I think this is a great thing that as a pastor I celebrate - and as a fellow follower of Christ, I am desiring as well.


As I've given more thought to this recently, I've started to wrestle with what this means and what this is all about. What is depth? What does it look like? How do I know how to gain it and experience it - and how do I know when I have?

If we're being honest, I think that many times our desire for "depth" is really mostly about a desire for more information - learning new and interesting things...which, again, is great. I love to study the Bible as much as anyone...and I love to learn new things as a result of it. Just ask my wife - she can tell you how excited I get about new insights and ideas that would frankly bore most people. I think learning new things can be fun and it is important.

But I also think that we have to be careful not to limit our understanding or definition of depth to simply gaining more knowledge or information...because that's not how I believe Jesus would define it. Jesus is interested in who we are becoming - not just in what we know or have learned.

In light of this, I believe depth really happens - it really shows up - when we begin to let the truth that we are learning change us and transform us into the people God created us to be. When we begin to allow God to take his proper place in our lives - that is depth. When we begin loving others unconditionally and demonstrating that love in real and tangible ways - that is depth. When we begin to give generously and serve sacrificially - that is depth.

Don't make the mistake of settling for depth of knowledge and information as though that is the depth that God is really interested in for you. Instead, pursue depth in a much more profound way. When you listen to a message, participate in a Bible study, discuss something together as a Life:Group, or read something in your own Bible reading - don't just ask yourself, "What new thing did I learn today?" Instead ask yourself, "How is God trying to grow me or change me through what I've heard?" Ask yourself, "What do I need to do with this truth, or how should I be doing things differently in my life in light of it?"

When you approach your pursuit of depth in this way, it allows every teaching, every discussion, every interaction with the truth to be one in which depth can be found and experienced.