EXPOSITION:

We focus today on Jesus, our model of self-development. Self- development is key to living a successful Christian life. It can  determine how far a person will go in his walk with the Lord. It forms pillars on which the foundation of life is built upon. A person who fails to develop himself makes no progress in life. Jesus as a man went through the process of self-development. Jesus developed  Himself in four areas: physical, mental, social and spiritual. He grew  in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men. Jesus grew  holistically and we are also expected to develop ourselves in that holistic manner.

Jesus increased in wisdom by taking all forms of education in His time serious. He had informal education in carpentry. He studied the  Scriptures and learned among great teachers at the time. Like Jesus, we must also develop ourselves mentally by taking our informal and formal education serious. He also developed physically.  Jesus went through all the stages of physical development and did not mess up His life at adolescent age. He might have maintained personal hygiene and so was physically strong. We should also develop physically by maintaining personal hygiene to avoid diseases.

Socially, Jesus could relate very well with people. Thus, he was loved  by many and had a lot of followers. We should learn to relate well with people just as Christ did. Finally, Jesus developed spiritually. He  related very well with God. He spent time with God in prayer and yielded to God in His ministry. We must emulate Christ in Spiritual development by spending time with God in prayer and in the study of the Scriptures.