Increase

You are a reasonable person. It doesn't require a lightning bolt from heaven to get your attention. Your powers of observation are such that you have discovered the truth of the scripture that says, "There is none righteous, no not one," Romans 3:10. You understand that if there is a holy God in heaven, man needs a savior.

You have further observed enough of man's activity through the millennia of his existence to realize that none but Jesus fit the description of a savior--that He be, "...as a Lamb without spot or blemish, " I Peter 1:19.

The preceding verse states clearly what you know in the depth of your being, "...you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold...but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ..." I Peter 1:18, 19. Although salvation is a free gift (see II Corinthians 9:15), a high price was paid to purchase it for you.

With the understanding borne of the Holy Spirit having awakened you to the veracity of these truths, you further grasp the reality that once you have believed, your God has a high expectation of you. It has nothing to do with what you own or who you are. It is rooted entirely in the fact that you are to, "...increase in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man," Luke 2:52, just as Jesus did.