As we begin this new year, the Spirit can help us recognize the gifts and talents God has given us. Let us, like the faithful servants in the Lord’s parable, increase and magnify them. The day will come when we stand before our compassionate Father in Heaven to give an account of our stewardship. He will want to know what we did with the gifts He gave us—in particular, how we used them to bless His children. God knows who we truly are, who we are designed to become, and so His expectations for us are high. But He doesn’t expect us to take some grand, heroic, or superhuman leap to get there. In the world He created, growth happens gradually and patiently—but also consistently and unrelentingly. Remember, it is Jesus Christ who already did the superhuman part when He conquered death and sin. Our part is to follow the Christ. It is our part to turn away from sin, turn toward the Savior, and walk in His way, one step at a time. As we do this, diligently and faithfully, we eventually cast off the shackles of imperfections and faults and slowly become refined, until that perfect day when we will be perfected in Christ. The blessings are within reach. The promises are in place. The door is wide open. It is our choice to enter and begin. The beginning may be small. But that is OK. Where faith is weak, begin with a hope in Christ Jesus and in His power to cleanse and purify.