Psalm 1:1-2
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither. Whatever he does prospers.
Prayer: Ask God to quiet your heart and mind so that you may find “delight” in his word today.
Philippians 3:12- 16
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
“Maturity” can be measured in different ways. Our physical bodies grow into maturity by the late adolescent years – but few of us are emotionally or relationally mature by that stage of life. A marriage may be regarded as “mature” when it reaches 25 years – yet one or both of the partners may be quite immature when it comes to – say – understanding the use of money.
Paul here is urging us to press on toward spiritual maturity. He shows us that the first step in growing toward maturity is to be willing to “consider” ourselves – to know ourselves. He writes, “…I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it …” In other words, even though Paul was one of the greatest Christians who ever lived, he was willing to look honestly at himself – at his own strengths and weaknesses.
Take a few moments to consider your own growth in the following areas of spiritual life.
- Taking hold of God’s word
- Taking hold of community
- Taking hold of prayer
- Taking hold of service
- Taking hold of generosity
- Taking hold of influence
Now take a few minutes to consider – with God’s help – the areas in which you would like to grow in the coming year. Ask him to help you develop an intentional plan to grow more mature in those areas.
Brian Coffey
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1 comment:
Any plan that we develop on our own is necessary, but just a start. I had to learn with spiritual maturity what I learned about my autos;
I know alot about cars, but am not a full time mechanic who is training and re-training in auto maintainance. Even if I decide to perform my own repairs, I've had to humble myself to consult a professional as to the soundness of my plan, and be willing to change my plan when it's clear that I should let the pro do the work.
This is possible because I have found mechanics whom I can trust, who are willing to let me do for myself what I can, (without just grabbing for my $$), and will strongly urge me to let them handle the parts which are over my head.
The danger is when I do this a few times and forget that counsel was necessary, and start to make judgements that are "above my experience" without humbly seeking advice.
The mechanic is not making my decisions for me, I'm always responsible for that, but everytime I think I know everything that he would say, I'm wrong.
And sometimes when I do guess correctly what he would say, it doesn't mean that consulting him was a waste of time, because it required me to exercise the humility that I constantly pray for. Because, as powerful as God is to give us spiritual gifts, if we don't exercise them, they won't develop.
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