Grow in Maturity
Our vision is very simple…in love, we will KNOW Christ Completely…GROW in Maturity…Serve Wholeheartedly…Share God Personally…in short, our vision is about making disciples. I want to continue this month looking at one phrase of our vision statement. Last month, I wrote about the importance for each of us to Know Christ Completely. This month, I want to expound on the phrase Grow in Maturity. It is our desire to become a church that focuses on making mature disciples. All of us will grow up eventually. A couple of years ago, I attended my 25 year high school reunion. It was kind of strange to see people after that many years. Some were doctors, executives, professionals in some type of work…but the thing that is certain is that most all of them are grown up – notice I said most of them…some still acted just the same as they did in high school. My point is this…we are all growing up. Our children are growing up…we can’t stop this from happening. As much as I would like for my boys to stay little boys…they will grow up.
So why do we specifically state in our vision that we need to grow in maturity? It we looked at other aspects of life, we would be assured that this process of maturity would just happen naturally in the church. But sadly, there are many Christians that have never put themselves in a place and situation to grow into a mature disciple. Jesus spoke about this in the parable of the sower. He said, “The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity” (Luke 8:14, NLT). It is so easy to let things stand in the way of our growth toward maturity. Work, play, relationships, and even church can become barriers to our growth in Jesus Christ. However, the mandate is present for our striving to grow in maturity. The apostle Paul wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11, NLT). There is the promise of love and peace in God for those who choose the path of maturity. And it can be yours!
So what does spiritual maturity look like? In his book The Safest Place on Earth, Larry Crab wrote the following.
In the midst of all our efforts to describe the spiritual life, to live, and to help others live it, there are some things we simply don’t know. Paul and John taught that none of us (including them) can see exactly what true maturity looks like (1 Cor. 13: 12; 1 John 3: 2-3). And we won’t see clearly until we lay our eyes on Christ. Only then will we know. Only then, after gazing on Him for a thousand years (it will seem like a day), will we look in a mirror and, with both astonishment and strange recognition, cry out, “So that’s what Christian maturity looks like. Of course!” (p. 4).
Spiritual maturity will be visible in our lives when we start to look like, act like and show the same attitude of Jesus Christ. The more we know him, the more we are seen as mature disciples. The Bible tells us “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” (2 Peter 3:18a, NIV), so in our lives we are to strive to grow…and that growth leads to maturity.
So what is the process of growth? Where does growth begin? I am a firm believer that growth has its roots in a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ. It begins as we learn to abide in Christ. Healthy things will grow, so when our relationship with Jesus is healthy, we are assured some type of growth.
In their book One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life, Kerry and Chris Shook stated, “The key to spiritual health is maintaining a strong relationship with your Creator. If you are connected to your Creator, you will grow like you’ve never grown before, and you’ll experience real power to make lasting changes.” These changes will result in a greater maturity and a deeper commitment to share the love of Jesus Christ with others. Jesus said, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs never grow on thornbushes, nor grapes on bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:43-45. NLT). Our lives will produce the fruit that we are developing on the inside. It we are healthy and closer to Christ through spiritual disciplines, we will begin to produce good fruit from our lives. That is our goal!
We must determine in our hearts to begin the growth process…making our relationship with Christ as healthy as possible and moving toward a greater level of maturity. As a church, it is our goal to continue the growth process in the lives of all people who are attending Pea Ridge Baptist. How are you growing toward maturity? What next steps do you need to take? I will be praying for God to work in our church as we move toward spiritual maturity!