As athletes, we’re likely more skilled in our sport today than when we first started playing. After we initially picked up that ball or held that hockey stick or bat, we made the choice to practice and play and to improve and grow.

As college athletes, my teammates and I chose to work on our individual skills and watch game film to improve and be prepared for upcoming games. We chose to grow every day so that we could continue to help our team be successful.

As followers of Christ, God doesn’t intend for us for us to receive Him and stop there. He wants us to continue to grow in Him once we receive Christ as our Savior. He wants us to experience the joy that comes from His freedom and for us to be used by Him to make a difference for His Kingdom. However, we can’t expect to be able to do either of those things without being, as it says in the verse above, rooted and built up in Him.

How do we do that? First, the foundation of our faith is built on His Word. Our faith isn’t built on feelings, emotional experiences, or even other people. Our roots of faith and the ensuing growth can take place when we spend time reading His Word and making it important in our everyday lives. Just like we choose to train as athletes, we can choose to train spiritually, being disciplined to read the Bible daily.

We also have the choice of how we will act while we are in the building process. According to Scripture, we should approach this process with thankfulness. And why can we be thankful? Because of what Christ did for us on the cross. He endured every pain, every temptation, and even death so that we could not only receive Him and His gift of eternal life, but also that we could be strengthened in Him to help spread His love to others.

Today, make the choice to train spiritually just as you would for your sport. Choose to be rooted in Him so that you can take part in building God’s team!