It is normal, and expected that a child should grow up and mature, both in body and in understanding. We all have our own unique experience of this process, probably both the painful and the funny. As a child grows into adulthood, the body changes, behaviour changes, thoughts and ideas change. The process is not without pain! Both parents and doctors would be concerned if a child did not follow a normal physical and mental growth pattern. In such a case medical support and other help is given.God also expects growth in our spiritual life.
This week I was reading John 3 where the religious leader Nicodemus came to ask Jesus about the things he was teaching and the miracles he was doing. Jesus had a confronting word for him. "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again you cannot see the Kingdom of God." Nicodemus, understandably confused, asked how could such a thing happen when one was old. Jesus explained that this birth was one that came only by the Holy Spirit, and the revelation he brings to those who want to know God.
So how does spiritual growth take place for a new believer, sometimes referred to as a "baby in Christ"? Just as a child has to go to school to learn how to read, to understand and to grow, so growth in faith only happens through studying God's word, hearing good teaching, and joining with others in worship.
Even Nicodemus, and later the apostle Paul, had much to learn and mindsets to change, even though they had both been thoroughly schooled in the Jewish faith and Law. Jesus posed a threat to the teachers of the Law of Moses because he came with a new interpretation of the Law. He challenged them as he explained the spirit of the Law that God had given to Moses. Jesus' teaching was for the heart as well as the mind.
The writer to the Hebrews expressed a certain frustration with the people to whom he wrote in Hebrews 5:.....12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. And later in Hebrews 6:1...... "So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding.
So how do we mature in our Christian faith and understanding? By reading God's word, discussing it in fellowship with other believers, hearing the word taught through church attendance, and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us. Jesus said this - "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:13.
One of the joys of the Christian life for me is that there is always something more to learn of God's ways, always new challenges to my thoughts and actions, always new growth to be had. We should always be a work in progress, as our dear friend Gordon said to his pastor in the last week of his life on this earth. That is exactly the attitude that Christ wants us to have.
Prayer: Father God, will you please help me to have a humble and teachable heart, always ready to hear your truth and alter my thoughts and ways to line up with your Word, that I might grow into maturity in my faith and understanding of You. Amen
