Of Bigger Ears...

I've heard it said that though the rest of our body stops growing into adulthood, our ears and nose keeps right on in their generative processes, getting bigger and bigger. A little research on the topic will yield mixed opinions. Some say "yes" our ears and nose continues growing while others contend "no" they do not. Science is conflicted on the topic.

If you begin to actively take notice, you may become persuaded that older men in particular seem to have bigger ears! Some "old man ears" are largely quite impressive. Perhaps this comes with the wisdom of being slower to speak and quicker to listen? Not quite rivaling Dumbo, the flying elephant's status, some older men's ears become a distinctive point of their appearance. It is possible "old man = big ears" is based on the general principle of the thinning of older men's hair which gives the illusion of larger ears. Women who wear heavy earrings are thought to stretch their ear lobes over time, thus giving them the illusion of "growing" ears. But do they really "grow?"

The thought of it is somewhat disconcerting. If, in fact, they do continue to grow, are they growing from the top up or the bottom down? If I'm blessed to live to be 100, will my ears make a baseball cap sit weird on my head? Will I gain an increasing affinity for old StarTrek reruns and have particularly strong connections to Spock? Will my great, great grandchildren want to play with my really big ears? This could get really perplexing!

If the typically "growing" things like hair (it does continually keep growing, but for many of us there is simply less of it to grow) and fingernails ceased in their growth processes, we'd likely seek medical attention and consider something to be "wrong" with us. Some things are meant to be in constant growth mode regardless of age, health or emotional disposition.

Our spiritual maturity is one of those things that should be in constant growth mode. From the time disciples of Christ are first called, a careful Bible reader can track the development of a disciple's spiritual growth. How disciples react to circumstances of adversity, how they rely on God's leading and how some eventually even give their earthly lives for the sake of the kingdom of God are indicators of certain levels of spiritual growth.

Are you still growing?

Spiritual growth is sometimes difficult to gauge. We are so "in the moment" of life, it can be confusing and even frustrating to try and determine spiritual growth. But, when we pause long enough for reflection and take a good look over our "spiritual shoulder," we can see the progress we're making in our walk with the Lord.

Steady growth requires times of intimacy and silence before God. It requires making room in your life for Him to stretch you and feed the parts of your spiritual being that need to conform more to the image of Jesus. Though it takes some effort on our part, it is largely a function of time.

Whether your ears are still growing may be a matter of opinion. Whether you should continue growing spiritually isn't. Spiritual growth is essential and needs to be something we all appreciate as God continues making us into more of what He would have us to be.