Monday, May 17

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 mediates day and night.

Begin this week by thanking God for his word and asking him to help you walk in the counsel of his truth.

Read:
Ephesians 4:7, 11-16

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it….

(v.11.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

My wife and I have four sons – ages 19, 17, 14 and 12. This means that, at any one time, all four of our boys are at different levels of physical, emotional and spiritual maturity. Where the older boys are mature enough to have their driver’s licenses and can come and go basically as they please, the younger boys don’t yet enjoy that kind of freedom. And while they may not always like it, they understand that they will receive those privileges when they are old enough and mature enough to handle the increased responsibility. And, believe me, they are definitely looking forward to those driver’s licenses!

In the same way, Paul here speaks of the hope of maturity – not physical maturity, but spiritual maturity. He says that one of the purposes of the church – of pastors and teachers – is that “the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Just as there are milestones of maturity in our son’s lives – turning 13, going to high school, getting a driver’s license – so also Paul suggests several milestones of spiritual maturity. He seems to identify “works of service,” “the knowledge of the Son of God,” and “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” as a few of the telltale markers of spiritual maturity.

In other words, we don’t necessarily grow more spiritually mature simply by growing older! We grow in spiritual maturity by knowing and believing certain things, by doing certain things, and by intentionally pursuing certain things.

Take a moment to do a little “maturity inventory” of your own spiritual life. If you were to sit down with the Apostle Paul at the ancient version of a Starbucks for the ancient version of a mocha frappuccino, and the two of you were to talk about your spiritual development – how would that conversation go? I imagine Paul might ask a few diagnostic questions during the conversation. He might ask:

“Are you growing in your knowledge of Christ? Is the Holy Spirit playing a greater and greater role in your life, decisions, speech and behavior?”

“Are you growing in your understanding of God’s word? Is God’s word part of your daily life and is his truth shaping your mind and heart as much as the media of our culture?”

“Are you growing in works of service? Are you doing your part in building up the church?”

For Paul, the goal of spiritual life in Christ is not church attendance – or even church membership. The goal is maturity! As you close your time with God today, ask him to help you identify areas of your spiritual life that have room to grow. Commit yourself to the process of growing toward maturity – in knowledge, in service and in Christ-likeness!

Brian Coffey