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Key Bible Verses: The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:8). Bonus Reading: 2 Peter 1:3-11

A college friend of mine was notorious for his brusque manner. A quick thinker, he became the master of the humorous and quick put-down. Then he married a sensitive, empathetic wife. You couldn't find two more opposite in that regard. Yet they've enjoyed two decades of a rich marriage.

One evening, when my friend and his wife were under a mountain of pressure, he slipped back into his old style. He said something that ridi-culed his wife. I missed it, but the next morning I received an e-mail from a very contrite friend. In case I'd heard his unfortunate remark, he wanted to express how ashamed he felt, how sorry he was, how much he loved and respected his wife, and wanted me to know that he wasn't the same guy he'd been in college.

Over the years I'd almost forgotten. God had so worked in his life that he's forged not a different personality but a more mature one. The same quick thinking and good humor remain, but they've been refined, and are usually put to good use. My friend didn't change overnight. He didn't change completely in 10 years. But where he is today is vastly different from where he was 20 years ago.

—Gary Thomas in Authentic Faith

My Response: Over the next decade, which area of my life will I work to improve?

Thought to Apply: Do not be afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.—Chinese proverb

Adapted from Authentic Faith (Zondervan, 2002) by permission.

Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, I want to become a disciple You can count on; grant me self-discipline to get started.

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