My Father Calls me Into Maturity.

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared that God's intent is for children to grow up. And while this thought may seem to be an obvious statement on the first read, the issue of development is a serious issue in the body of Christ.

We begin life as infants. Infants are famous for their dependency. As Pastor Sam noted, even a baby's strength to cry is influenced by the nourishment he or she has received. No one ought reprimand a baby for being a baby. But if a person who is fifteen years old manifests a level of dependency that is common to infants, then the general consensus would be that something is wrong. The expectation is that, as persons move from infancy to adolescence, they move from dependence to independence.

Similarly, our society holds the expectation that as adolescents grow into adulthood, there is a shift from independence to interdependence. There is the realization that life is not "all about me", but that collaboration and teamwork are critically important to the functioning of families and communities. A selfish, self-absorbed fifteen-year old is given much grace. A selfish, self-absorbed fifty-year old is not. Why? Because there is a prevailing notion that people who are matured in years are willing to engage in sharing, perspective-taking, and understanding of the opinions and needs of others.

God, our Father, has designed us to grow up... not just biologically, but also spiritually. The Bible notes that Christians who are new in the faith, like babies, should be given spiritual milk-- the basic tenets of the faith. Older Christians who have logged more years in the faith ought to be able to handle spiritual meat-- deeper conversations concerning the things we know and believe (see Hebrews 5:11-6:3). People of God, we are called to grow up. May God help us all to grow up in Him.

How old are you in the Lord? (For how many years have you embraced the Christian faith?)
Are your faith-years a true representation of your spiritual age?
Does your spiritual behavior tag you as dependent, independent, or interdependent?