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Just like babies, Christians start out weak; learn to crawl, then walk and run. Hebrews teaches us what it means to mature as Christians and how we are to accomplish that task.
Maturity should be our goal as we are more useful to God when we have grown in His teachings. He has set Jesus Christ as our model of maturity; the perfection of Jesus is what we hope to attain. Just as children have to grow into adults, so must Christians grow into their maturity; the work is a process and takes time. As we grow, our maturity is evidenced by our love for others and our understanding of the Word.
While full maturity or perfection will never be attained on earth, our job is to get as far as we can in this life. Study this verse: “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,” (Hebrews 6:1) It’s not telling us that the principles of the doctrine of Christ, repentance and faith are not important. The verse means that these are foundation lessons that the baby Christian should know and we must grow beyond these lessons, not forget them, but build on them.
Many Christians never get beyond these foundational teachings. They believe that understanding Christ’s purpose of salvation, repentance and faith are all that they need to know. While these things are perhaps enough for salvation, enough to let us squeak through the pearly gates, they are not enough for the maturity that truly pleases God.
God sent Christ to us not only for our salvation but also to act as our teacher. If His only work on earth were to die for our sins, He would not have spent time teaching and training His disciples. Christians who seek maturity spend time learning from Christ. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;” (Hebrews 12:1-2a)
Note particularly the phrase above, “let us run with patience the race that is set before us”. The race is our life. The author tells us to run, meaning that we are to always be in forward motion with our eyes on Christ, our model of perfection. Also consider the word ‘patience’. We do all things in God’s time, not our own. Waiting on God’s time is a mark of maturity.
Now look at the phrase, “let us lay aside every weight”. Being able to relinquish the cares of this world to God is another mark of Christian maturity. When we get caught up in the cares of day-to-day life, we have less time and energy to spend with God and in His service. When we can consistently turn our worries over to God and press on with His work, we’ve grown considerably.
Persevering will be a key to maturing. It is through our difficulties and learning to surrender that we grow. “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Hebrews 2:10) We are being forged into new creations, a process that is painful at times. Accept these times as periods of growth and surrender the trials to God. If there is one place that we all stumble it is in learning to surrender and let God take on our burdens.
Symptoms of maturity are easy to spot. Growth in our ability and desire to love other people and do work that is pleasing to God is an excellent sign that we are maturing in our faith. “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:” (Hebrews 10:24) Notice use of the word ‘provoke’ in the verse. Part of our job as Christians is to encourage, push, or prod each other along in the Christian life. Young Christians benefit from a discipleship relationship with a more mature Christian that can guide them into maturity. A good teacher will challenge us to push further into our relationship with Christ.
Growth in understanding will come to the Christian that presses on to a deeper relationship with Christ. Understanding includes discernment, too. “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:14) It is from the meat of God’s Word that we learn discernment. Bible study, fellowship, discipleship and prayer will all lead to deeper understanding of the Word, the world and what God’s purpose for us is.
Those who seek understanding make their walk with God top priority. Many people say that they would read the Bible, go to church, pray or help others if they had more time. The serious student makes the time for God their top priority. This is wise, because it is from God that we get our strength, wisdom and ability to do all other things. When we put Him first, He puts our needs first.
Contentment will come to mature Christians. We come to an understanding that “all things work together for good to them that love God”. (Romans 8:28) “…and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5) Knowing and accepting that God’s hand is in everything and that He has control of everything brings about peace and contentment. Being able to roll with the punches is a true mark of maturity.
Maturity comes with age in our physical life as well as our spiritual life. We don’t learn the important lessons overnight. True maturation takes time, learning and willingness. Growing up is not something that we do alone. We all need parents in our spiritual life as well as our physical life. If you wish to grow into a deep and lasting relationship with God, find a mature Christian to disciple you, put your time with God first, learn all you can and step out in faith. God will honor your efforts and you will mature.
(All Scripture is KJV)
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