Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. (Ephesians 4:14)
Because God’s greatest goal for us is to conform us to the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are to live out the importance of growing up, not just growing old. Think about it this way: I can’t imagine anyone saying they want to be the same person today that they were a year ago. Those who are not committed to growing in their faith are mired in perpetual spiritual infancy.
Spiritual growth is not automatic after Jesus raises us from death to life. Spiritual growth requires that we desire to grow, decide to grow, do the work to grow, and persist in growing. This growth, of course, is a life-long process that will not be completed until we are brought into glory. And while our growth is all of grace, it will not be completed without our commitment.
We all know about commitment. We are all committed to something or some things. The question is, Are we committed to growing and maturing in our Christian faith? Identifying our commitments will make the answer crystal clear. Here are a few things to consider: Your prayer life . . . Your thought life . . . Your Bible reading plan . . . Your weekly church attendance . . . Your generosity . . . Your service to the expansion of the Kingdom of Christ.
To grow up and become more like Jesus, we must deeply desire to develop the mind of Jesus. We have to think His thoughts — we must take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) — and one of the best ways to begin doing is to follow this instruction from the apostle Paul:
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things (Philippians 4:8).
We must be very intentional about what we are putting into our minds. We must be careful to fill our minds with the wisdom of God’s Word, not the wisdom of this world. We must focus on “the truth that is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21), not our feelings. At this level of living, we can be certain that we will not only be growing older, but we will also be growing up into maturity.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 