I get frustrated at my lack of spiritual growth. But then I think of Abraham. In James 2, we read:

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only (Jas 2:21-24).

Abraham’s faith was finally “made perfect.”

Abraham left Haran at seventy-five years old (Gen 12:4) and was one-hundred when Isaac was born (Gen 21:5). How old was Abraham when he went to sacrifice Isaac? There’s much debate about that, but one clue is that Isaac was old enough to carry the wood up the mountain (Gen 22:6), meaning he was not a baby. Josephus guessed that Isaac was twenty-five (Antiquities, Book 1, Chap. 3, Paragraph 2), making Abraham one-hundred-and-twenty-five years old at that time.

Why is that significant?

It means as many as fifty years passed between Abraham leaving Haran and his climbing Mount Moriah with Isaac. It is also shows how long it took for his faith to be perfected, matured, or completed.

Fifty years of growing to maturity!

That’s longer than I’ve been alive.

And mind you, Abraham was no spiritual slouch about his pursuit of God, but was, indeed, a super-hero of the faith, given every advantage to grow, including having God directly talk to him about his life. And yet, it still took fifty years (or more)!

Are you anxious to grow spiritually? Me too. Just remember that it can take time!