When I was attending Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa as a young Christian, I remember asking Pastor Chuck Smith, "Chuck, how long have you been a Christian?"
I don't remember his exact answer, but I think he said somewhere around 25 years. I thought, Twenty-five years! After you have been a believer for 25 years you must be able to achieve some kind of elevated state where you somehow rise above temptation and all of the problems that other Christians face who have not known the Lord for so long.
Well, I have been a Christian now for more than 25 years, and I can tell you with absolute assurance that there is no spiritual plateau out there. And by that I am saying there is no place that you are going to arrive at where suddenly you are above problems and temptation. There is not some kind of super spiritual state where you no longer grapple with such things. No level of Christian living exists where you are somehow above it all. Christianity is a life of constant challenge, constant growth, and constant change.
Our spiritual growth will continue until our lives come to an end on this earth and we meet the Lord in heaven. And that's a wonderful thing.
