The fastest-growing plant in the world is bamboo. This record- breaking member of the grass family is so quick to shoot up that some types can grow three feet in just twenty-four hours. That’s equivalent to an inch every forty minutes. Bamboo is a versatile product used for building materials and as a source of food. It has higher compressive strength than wood, brick, or concrete and a tensile strength that is comparable to steel.
On the other hand, cacti are some of the slowest growing plants in the world. The saguaro cactus grows only one inch in the first ten years of its life, and it doesn’t grow a branch for seventy-five to one hundred years. They grow only from seeds, never from cuttings, and their growth rate is strongly dependent on precipitation. Saguaros live to be 150 years old and usually grow to around forty feet tall.
When Jesus was born into our world, how fast did He grow? Christ was like any other child and grew physically into adulthood much like you or me. His mind and body developed normally, as other children. But Jesus had a wisdom and character beyond His years. Speaking of Him as a child, the Bible says, “The Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him” (Luke 2:40).
Unlike other children, Christ had an unusually beautiful temperament. His character perfectly reflected the image of His heavenly Father. His bright mind and open heart were directed by the Holy Spirit. The more Jesus grew, the stronger He increased in His likeness to God.
Are you developing into the similitude of the Saviour?
“Be like Jesus, this my song, in the home and in the throng; be like Jesus, all day long! I would be like Jesus.”
For Further Study: Luke 2:39–52; 1 Samuel 2:26; 2 Peter 3:18
