GROW INTO MATURITY

GROW INTO MATURITY

Growth is one of the indicators of life. Living things grow, if there is no growth, then life can be questioned.  No one will talk of growth without talking of birth because before growth can occur, there must be a time of birth. A child is born naturally before the growth chart is put in place. At each growth stage, there are milestones, which are expected at every point of growth. If there are delays in reaching the milestones, both the parents and caregivers become worried, and something has to be done. Some children are said to be retard in their growth which means they don’t reach their mile stone when their agemates are reaching it.

The same principle is applicable in the spiritual, before we can talk of spiritual growth, we have to talk of spiritual birth. No man will grow spiritually without first having a rebirth. Jesus puts it this way in His conversation with Nicodemus:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.   John 3:3-6

Spiritual life must also grow as physical life grows. If there is no growth, God, who is our father will not be happy and even our earthly spiritual parents will be unhappy. Apostle Paul could boldly claim his role as a father to the churches that he wrote his epistles to: For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel.  1 Corinthians 4:15  This is the reason why Paul scolded them when they were not behaving in accordance of what is expected of them. In the book of Hebrews 5:12-14 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 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.

Milestones of Spiritual Maturity

Let’s take a look at the Prayer Paul prayed for the Christians in Colossae and bring out a few things that a mature Christian is expected to have:

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Colossians 1:9-10

1. You must be filled with the knowledge of Christ. How much of Christ do you know? How often do you study His word so that you can know what is right or wrong? If the tempter (the devil) comes to deceive you, do you have enough of God’s knowledge to counter his lies? Imagine if Jesus did not have the adequate word to defeat satan when he came to tempt Jesus, satan was even using the scriptures. This is the reason why you must increase in knowledge. Your level of knowledge is a mark of the level of your maturity.
2. You must have a great spiritual understanding: mature Christians do not just take things as they appear, they do not only deal with the physical, but also the spiritual. For example, if someone keeps provoking you and you do not have a spiritual understanding of what could be behind the scenes, you may be fighting the wrong battle. Jesus turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men Matthew 16:23 Jesus was not in any way referring to Peter as satan but He has the spiritual understanding that it was satan using the vocal cords of Peter to talk.
3. Walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing: Are your ways, conduct, communication, and walk pleasing unto God? As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7. As you are walking in the dictates of the scripture, you will be growing and will be doing things that will please your heavenly father.
4. You must be fruitful in every good work: What do people around you know you for, what is their testimony about your Christian work? A mature tree is one that yields fruits. If you have been born again for years or days, and others cannot see the fruit of repentance, then your spirituality is fake. Matthew 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: Matthew 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. When it comes to fruitfulness, it is non-negotiable as far as our Christian work is concerned.