Christian Maturity

Week 38

Wherever you are in your Christian walk, there is always another level to attain. As I was meditating on scripture in Exodus one day, the Lord revealed something to me that I had never thought about before. God told the Israelites what to expect as they entered the promised land he was giving them. He was not going to give them the entire land at once, but he told them, “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.” Exodus 23:27-30

That is exactly what God does for us once we become disciples of Christ. As new believers in Christ, we are almost always supernaturally protected from the evil one when we first become believers. Many people have received physical healing, emotional healing and have experienced deliverance from some of their worst demons, such as alcoholism, addictions, bitterness, sorrow. 

But this initial hedge of protection, doesn’t last throughout our walk with Christ. God knows that we need to see miracles and signs and wonders when we first give him our heart. And he knows that our faith needs to grow. 1 Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 

Basics, that is what we need when we first come to the Lord, we need to be fed the Word of God on a continual basis. He doesn’t expect us to know and understand the entire Bible right away, but little by little our faith grows.

As we mature in our faith walk, we are able to understand more and more of God’s word and the work that he has planned for us. When I was at this point in my journey with the Lord, it seemed that I had so much energy and just wanted to share my faith and do things for him because of my love for him. 

If we compare this time in our lives with adolescence it is easy to understand the joy, the vitality, the exuberance that we experience. We can almost run ahead of God at this time, because we think we know it all. Sound like a teenager? Yes, we have all gone through that phase. God knows that we are like that, he made us after all. 

During the maturing years he may have to discipline us over and over for the same mistakes. Scripture tells us to expect this discipline. Hebrews 12: 11, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

When we finally mature enough in our faith, we begin to listen to God’s voice. Jesus said that he was the good shepherd and that his sheep knew his voice. It doesn’t happen overnight, it is a process. The more we hear and obey, the more we hear and obey. And on and on. 

It is at this point in our journey that people in the world have false ideas about Christians. Many think that we are trying to earn our salvation by doing good works. However, the true disciple knows why they are doing good works. James stated it quite well in chapter two, “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” And again he said, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

This stage of maturity brings forth fruit. All of the teachings and the years of obedience, failing, listening and reading God’s word are beginning to reap that harvest of righteousness.

As we become more Christlike and we become the people that God created us to be, the world is impacted by our deeds. Instead of letting the world rule us, we begin to rule the world. We are able to take control of more of the land that God has given us. The enemies that used to stand in our way now have become powerless. Not because they are any weaker, but because our faith is stronger. We now have some longevity with the Lord, we have seen his power displayed over and over again. We have experienced his saving grace, his miracles, his love and mercy and we know that the one we serve is greater than the one who rules the world. We have nearly taken all the land that God has given us to possess at this point in our walk. But there is still work to be done.

We never reach the end of learning about God, but we do reach a point when we need to share with others the wisdom, the experience, the knowledge that we have gathered during our journey. 

In Deuteronomy six, we read that God warns his people not to forget all that he did for them to bring them into the land of milk and honey. We don’t reach this point of maturity unless the Lord brings us here. We did not get so smart on our own. God’s Holy Spirit taught us everything we know about him. Our faith has been a process and we need to remember that when we see others in our church who are on the road to the promised land, but have not quite reached the point that we are at.

How can we encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ? What can we do to lift them up and help them along the path that we traveled? Can we direct them? Can we comfort them? 

God expects us to help one another on this journey through life. We are all at different places on the pathway. No matter where you might be at this point in time, be encouraged that others have been where you are and have grown in their faith. Others around you want to help you and not condemn you. It’s okay to ask questions and to seek Godly counsel. Ask God’s spirit to direct your path.

Father God, 

We come to you today at different places in our faith walk and we know that you understand each one of us. You know just what it will take to bring us into a deeper relationship with you and into the promised land. We want to be the people you created us to be, we want to be obedient and do good deeds. We want to become righteous and more Christlike in all that we do. We know that this will be a process and we thank you for the patience you have with us during this process. May we glorify you and grow in grace and knowledge of you daily. Because of Christ. Amen