Last week's ezine...

[Bill]

***When I saw Wisdom make an appearance on the forum, it brought last week's ezine to mind for some reason. When I see someone like him, I think of the maturity of faith that we should be striving for. That's what last week's message was. It's posted below to share with you all.***

This Week's Verse

1 Peter 2:1, 2, 21 -- Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,...For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in His steps

Bill's Weekly Thought

We talked last week a little about growth as Christians, and we're going to talk a little more about it this week. Every day, we realize that we're growing in our faith. We mature. Think of it in terms of the growth of a child. There is a tragedy if they do not grow, correct? Maturity of that child is the goal...for them to grow from the infantile stage to a fullness of adulthood. Let's go back to last week...what did we say about the Christian life? It starts with a birth, and we progress along a path to maturity of the faith. Consider this: There's more in the bible dealing with the concept of growth than there is about the rapture (the idea of "going up"). So growth and maturity is important! While I recognize that we're all at different places in our walk, I think these are good points for everyone.

If we are to reach the goal of maturity in our Christian walk, there are indeed some things that have to be put away. When we're kids, we have our favorite toy...it's a favorite relic of childhood. Little girls have their favorite dolls, little boys have their favorite trucks or cars or bears. It's a natural phase in life though as we grow and mature to put those things aside. They no longer hold the place in our lives as adults as they did when we were kids. In fact, those items more than likely got tossed out or sold at a yard sale. The same thing is true in the Christian walk...however it's not toys as we think of them. In 1 Corinthians 13:11, Paul tells us "when I became a man I put away childish things." According to Paul, some of these childish things are strife, envy, and divisions. Peter in our text agrees with him. He tells us to put away these things. Malice and bitterness:the wrong feelings we have toward other people. Guile: a disposition toward hypocrisy Hypocrisy:the act of guile actually lived out Envy: the idea of being tormented with someone else's good or blessings All evil speakings: slandering other people, gossiping, etc. Have we put these things away? While we stumble into them from time to time, they should not be a daily practice in our lives.

Ok, so we see the things that we put away as we mature in our faith. What about our diet? Think about the growth of a child. It's important that they get a good healthy diet from the beginning in order to get the proper vitamins and nutrition they need to grow up. So it is once a Christian is "born". What is it that we're feeding our mind, heart and soul? Everything we take in has an effect on us. There is junk food out there for the soul, just like there is a cookie aisle and a chips and snacks aisle in the grocery store. Junk food doesn't do us any good at the waistline or the cholesterol count, and spiritual junk food does nothing for our growth and maturity in Christ. There's lots of "not so good" reading material out there, and a television set laced with profanity, sexual misconduct, and the promotion of drinking as a sign of the good life. These things are spiritual junk food for us. What is it that develops spiritual growth for us? The Word. Peter puts a neat analogy here...if you've had the opportunity to be around a newborn as a parent or sitter, you know how the child will have an eager longing for milk. That's the same kind of desire we should have for the Word in order for us to grow and mature in our faith. This is where our devotional life plays in, our time spent in the Word daily. It helps us grow! Tell you this, you're talking to someone who used to really struggle in this area, and still does from time to time. Once we see the need to spend time in the Word, and begin to find our nourishment in the time we spend with the Lord and in the Word, the bigger our spiritual appetite is and the more growth we experience. How strong is our desire for the Word?

So, 2 stages down about growth and one more to go. We talked about diet, we talked about putting away of the childish things. Now, who is it that we follow? Heroes are a part of every childhood. I had mine I know. I was a product of the 1970's, so I was big on Pittsburgh sports teams, the Pirates and Steelers (yes, the Pirates used to be good LOL). Every child has heroes, whether in sports, music, acting, whatever. Many, if not all, of my childhood heroes are no longer visible. Some may have passed on, some are just no longer in the public spotlight, and still others have fallen from grace. Consider this: The young Christian...the new believer...may hold that person who led him to the Lord in high regard. He may idolize a certain musician, a certain evangelist or pastor. It's real easy to do that as a new believer too, because that person is visible. But, who do you follow? Peter tells us very plainly: Follow Jesus Christ! We should be striving to walk as He walked, (1 John 2:6), we should love as He loved (John 13:35) and we should think as He thought (Philippians 2:5). In striving to walk as He did, love as He loved, and think as He thought, we will find maturity in our faith. A song comes to mind..."Don't look at me...look at Him." Don't know who wrote or sang that song, but there's great truth in it. Look to Christ as our example! People will fail to be the example, but He can never fail.

So, do we still have relics of infancy hanging around in our walk with the Lord? I ask that not to put anyone down, or to make anyone feel bad, but I ask because we all have more growing to do, and more learning to do in our faith. And the more we grow, the more our relationship with Him grows, we just experience whole new levels of the power of God in our lives, because we are becoming more mature in our walk. And that power translates not only into our lives being changed, but into more lives being touched around us because they see what the Lord is doing in your life! Let's get to growing!

[Catsmeow]

I loved your post, Bill. I have just one more thing to add, though.

Spiritual maturity comes with time; like children...we all grow at different rates...some faster, some slower.

We do need to be patient with each other because we are by no means all at the same place.

Ever see a parent outpace their little tot at a store? The child is scurrying to catch up with Mom or Dad, while they're focused on their business.

I think we do the same. We hurry through our life cycles, forgetting that many of us are still on milk and barely crawling, while others are walking but slowly; some are ready for the Olympics and well versed...

I see all kinds of believers on this board. Some are still embryonic...they haven't made a decision but are clearly in the process of saying, "Yes" ...some are real new at this....and still learning a lot. I remember the first time I asked someone, "What does 'grace' mean?"

We have to consider where each person is...and be patient with each one. We're not all at the same place spiritually. The important thing is that we're on the right road, heading the same direction.