Good Morning Friends,
What does it look like to be spiritually
mature?
There are actually a number of gauges that can
be used. We can compare ourselves to a Person, Jesus Christ. He embodies
perfection -- perfect spiritual maturity. Or, we can look at the fruit of the
Spirit. The more fully those characteristics are developed in our lives, the
more mature we are. The same thing can be said for the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.
They provide another set of benchmarks against which we can compare our growth.
Paul provides such a list in his letter to
Titus, and a similar one when he wrote his first letter to Timothy. He’s
talking about the qualifications for an elder, but, with a few exceptions, it’s
basically about spiritual maturity.
“An elder must be blameless, the husband of but
one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being
wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must
be blameless -- not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness,
not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who
loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He
must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he
can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” (Titus
1:6-9)
Take a close look at that list of character
traits and then take a look at your own life. How are you doing in your growth
toward maturity? Can you see the progress you’ve made in the last year or so? Are
there specific areas in which it is clear that you need to allow the Lord to
work in your life?
The road we are on has a clear and certain
destination: heaven. There the transformation of our lives will be complete.
But the destination isn’t all that is important to the Lord. He’s interested in
our journey here, too. Are you allowing Him to change you along the way?
His, by Grace, Steve
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