By Billy Graham

Becoming a Christian is the work of a moment; being a Christian is the work of a lifetime.

Many years ago (so the story goes) engineers made plans to construct a suspension bridge over the deep river gorge. The biggest problem was how to get the heavy steel cables from one side of the gorge to the other. Helicopters hadn’t been invented, and the turbulent, rock-strewn river below made it too dangerous to transfer the cables by boat.

The solution? One day the engineers flew a kite over the gorge. As it hovered over the opposite shore, they deliberately grounded it, which meant the two sides of the river were now linked by a thin kite string. They then tied a slightly heavier string to one end of the kite string and carefully hauled it across to the other side. Once it was in place they tied a still stronger cord to the end of that string and pulled it across. They repeated this process several more times, graduating to a thin rope, then on to stronger ropes until eventually they were able to pull the heavy steel cables across the gorge and construct the bridge.

What if they had stopped with the kite string? Or what if they had decided to take a month off to celebrate the kite’s successful flight? Not only would the bridge never have been built, but that thin kite strong probably would have been destroyed by the elements.

Spiritual growth is somewhat like the construction of that bridge. At first our faith may be small and fragile, in danger of being swept away by the storms and temptations that buffet us. But that isn’t God’s will! Just as the link between the two sides of that river gradually grew stronger and stronger, so God’s will is for our faith to grow stronger and stronger. God’s will isn’t simply our conversion, but our spiritual maturity.

Excerpt from Billy Graham’s book The Journey: How to Live by Faith in an Uncertain World, 2006. You can find an extensive collection of Mr. Graham’s books available for purchase in Ruth’s Attic Bookstore at The Billy Graham Library.