Inspired by GU’s Christian Service course, Christian
Maturity.
Do you remember when you were a child and you wanted to have
the best toy or the newest game? Or, you set a goal of trying all the flavors
of sweet or sour candy, just to say you did? Adults had no time for that. And I
remember thinking, “Why don’t they like it?” At some point, they outgrew
childhood. They “put away childish things.” Paul wrote in his letter to the
Corinthians, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a
child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of
childhood behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11 New International Version).
This transition from being a child to becoming an adult goes
against what we want when we are young. We want to be forever young and to
experience life at its fullest. To have to wait for any “need” or “want” to be
met is intolerable. Patience is not fully understood. Not getting that new toy,
game, or candy is unimaginable! Disappointing. Even embarrassing, in comparison
to other kids who get what they want.
Yet for all the indulgence and impatience that children are
often accused of, what DO they do right? Their inexperience on this earth
causes them to be overly trusting, overly innocent, overly humble. They are by
no means perfect, but they are teachable and they follow. Whether an adult
guides them to good or to bad, they trust and obey. It is for this reason that
Jesus commended little children. Not for their outward actions, but for the
condition of their heart.
In Matthew 18:2, Jesus called a little child over and said
to the disciples, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will
never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Can an adult become a child again? Unfortunately, no. But an
adult can have a
change of heart. Despite
his or her experiences on this earth, an adult
can become trusting, innocent, and humble.
The psalmist wrote:
Create
in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10 NIV)
King Solomon advised:
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23
NIV)
And Paul encouraged the church
members in Philippi by writing:
And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 NIV)
Christian [adults] are often accused of being “other-worldly,”
thinking more in terms of faith and heaven, rather than focusing on the “here
and now.” The other extreme is to be overly “worldly,” focused on the temporal,
often self-centered, or childish. The biblical ideal is to reach a balance—to
have confidence in our faith and the reality of heaven, to fulfill our
present-day purpose here on earth, and to be aware of our future reward in
heaven.
Spiritual growth comes only after believing in God as Heavenly
Father. To recognize
God as our spiritual
Father would mean we are spiritual children. Thus, all believers become members
of a spiritual family. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. Does that mean we
are literally “family”? No! But, we do have a not-of-this-world opportunity
(dare I say, responsibility) to treat one another with kindness, compassion,
and brotherly love out of a sincere heart.
If we all were to treat one another with civility and spiritual
maturity and “put away childish things” of this world, imagine what could be
accomplished for good! The book of 1 John expresses this theme. If we say we
believe in God and know God, but we do not love God or others, then we do not
know God, for God is love.
This is how God showed
his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might
live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and
sent his Son [Jesus] as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since
God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:9–11 NIV)
