from infancy to maturity

Reading
We must no longer be children… But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. (Ephesians 4.14-16 nrsv)

By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one- baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong. So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. (Hebrews 5.12-6.1 tm)

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature… (2 peter 1.3-4 esv)

Story
In the hit Christmas comedy Elf, Will Farrell plays a kid who goes to live with Santa’s elves when he’s a baby. As the years pass, his body grows like a normal human’s would, but mentally he still lives in the world of the elves, where life consists of games, candy, toys, and Christmas all year round. He receives a rude awakening when he travels to New York at Christmas to meet his real parents…

When I watched this movie, I was almost rolling in the aisles (which, given the popcorn and spilled soda, I’m glad I didn’t do) as I was laughing at how comical it was to see this grown man act like a child all the time. If you had a parent or a teacher who acted like they were 9 years old all the time and only ate chocolate and licorice, you’d laugh too.

We’d be astonished, alarmed, and shocked to meet a person who never “grew up” mentally or physically. Yet why are we not surprised when we meet someone who never matures in their journey with God? Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, shares with the community of people he led that God has rescued us from sin and given us life “so that you may become partakers of the divine nature.” We were actually created to grow, change, and mature! We are rescued by God so that we can partake of God’s heart and life- have Jesus’ character, priorities, increasingly become what we live for.

Exercise
Sit down today and make a list. How are you different right now than you were 1 year ago in how you look, what you do for fun, what you know, etc? How is your life with God different than it was 1 year ago? Are you more or less like Jesus than you were 1 year ago? In what ways? If it looks like your growth in Christ is suffering from some malnutrition, take a few minutes to talk with God about how your life needs to take on Jesus’ life…

Conversation
-in what ways have you taken on the heart and life of Jesus?
-in what areas of you life are you suffering from stunted growth?
-how do you want to be more like Jesus 1 year from now than you are right now?
-in your journey with God, are you in preschool, jr. high, or college?
-hit “comment,” and let the conversation begin…