Spiritual Maturity
Do you think I sound spiritually mature? Are you spiritually mature?
This are some of the more difficult questions to ask within the church. They are difficult because they require us to make an honest evaluation of ourselves and those around us. So what is the standard for spiritual maturity? Is it Paul? Peter? Noah? Christ?
Simply put it is none of them. Yes, we are called to be like Christ but we can still be spiritually mature without obtaining Christ's spiritual maturity. Yes, we should see Paul, Peter and Noah as spiritually mature but once again we can be spiritualluy mature and not be like them. So how do we know? Believe it or not Scripture gives us some clues about what spiritual maturity looks like.
One such clue is found in Hebrews 5. Here we find that the ability to discern good and evil is a mark of maturity. In essence, the writer is saying to us that when we are able to consistently recognize the lies and deceptions of the Devil then we are showing signs of spiritual maturity. So can you consistently see his lies? If not why not? What is it that is keeping you from growing into maturity?
These same verse in Hebrews also tell us that our maturity is a result of training and practice. The word practice (in the original Greek) means a power or habit acquired through custom or use. To me this says that we need to work at seeing the work of the Devil. Even we do not want to do it we must be working on developing the habit. This same principle applies to other areas of spiritual growth. I know there are days when I do not necessarily want to be in God's word. I have so much that I feel like I have to do that I think "I just do not have the time to do it this morning and besides I have pretty good over the last few weeks, what is one missed day.." Well, if I allow myself to fall into this trap then one day becomes two and then three and then four.... While, I do not always follow my own advice I work hard at continuing in certain habits (i.e. reading God's word or praying for others) even when I do not want because I know that through these kinds of exercises I will be able to develop some spiritual maturity. What are some habits that you have that help you develop spiritual maturity? What safeguards do you have in your life to protect those habits?
And yes I would like for your to leave your answers to these questions in the comments section. :)
3 comments:
First of all, having thoughts like this before 8am cannot be healthy :)
Second, I get it but I don't know if I think we need to seek out the ways of the Devil. For me, I've seen the Devil a lot in my past, and I've grown accustom to what he is like. And my discernment comes from a feeling from my gut. And I think that knowing God and his character makes it easier to know what's not from Him. I think that we need to work at seeing the way of the Devil by staying trust to God's word and prayer, and not actually be trying to see the ways of the devil because it may be a little to easy to get swallowed up in the wrong way (even with spiritual maturity).
So digging into God's word daily and surrounding myself with strong christian friends is a good way for me to keep growing and discerning.
~Denise
It is not so much that you have to seek out the ways of the Devil as it is that as we grow in our maturity that we are better able to see what the Devil is doing. As we grow in our faith we begin to with greater clarity the spiritual battles that are constantly going on around us.
that makes sense, I think I was just seeing words when I read it the other day :)
Post a Comment