"Taking Stock" is an interesting phrase that has its origins in the 1730s.  The Oxford English Dictionary says that "to take stock" means "to make a careful estimate of one's position with regard to resources, prospects, or the like."

The Apostle Paul said we are to "work out our own salvation with fear and  trembling." (Philippians 2:12) That doesn't mean our salvation is based on works or on what I do.  Salvation is the free gift of God and there is nothing you or I can do to earn it or deserve it. 

What that verse means is that you and I are responsible for our own spiritual growth. 

Your pastor is not responsible for your spiritual growth.  You are.  Your Sunday School or small group leader is not responsible for your spiritual growth.  You are.  Your spouse is not responsible for you growing in the Lord - that's your job!

Here's the good news: While you are ultimately responsible for your own spiritual growth, you don't have to do it by yourself.  In fact, you can't do it by yourself!  You need the instruction, encouragement, edification and insight of others in order to become all that God intends you to be. There are things you don't know, experiences you haven't had, mistakes you haven't made and insights you haven't yet gleaned from the Word, and you need others to share these things with you.  There is no such thing as a "Lone Ranger" Christian!

Have you seen the commercial where a doctor is trying to talk a patient through surgery on the phone?  "Now make a 3-inch incision just above the forth rib..." the surgeon says as the perplexed patient is sitting at his kitchen table holding a butter knife.  "Shouldn't you be doing this?" the patient asks.  The commercial uses that outrageous scenario to make the point that there are some things that we just can not and should not do for ourselves. 

Let's face it: when it comes to seeing ourselves honestly, we are not qualified.  We tend to either see ourselves as better than we actually are or we are too hard on ourselves and see ourselves as less than we really are.  Robert Burns, the renowned Scottish poet once wrote, "O the gift that God would give us, to see ourselves as others see us."  He's right, you know.  It is very, very difficult for us to objective about ourselves. That is why we need the people who know us best and love us most to help us in the process of becoming the man or woman of God that He intends for us to be.

Who are those people in your life?  Are you leaning on them for advice, support and encouragement?  Are you asking them to make sure you are aware of "blind spots" in your life that can hinder your growth or compromise your witness?