I was probably the worst teenager in the world.
Well, maybe not in the whole world – but possibly in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma. At least that’s how I feel sometimes now looking back. I was selfish in my actions, naive, stubborn, and had a rebellious streak a mile wide. Oh, how I did NOT like to be told what to do. I wanted to do what I wanted to do. More than anything, I just wanted to be treated like an adult, make my own decisions, and be on my own.
However, I wasn’t ready for all that. I didn’t have the ability to understand things the way an adult does. Part of that is because the human brain doesn’t fully develop until you’re about 25, and the other part is wisdom only comes from experience and growth. There’s no short cut in life you can take that goes from infancy to adulthood. You just have to live it.
Our spiritual life is the same.
When you are saved, you are a spiritual babe in Christ (1 Peter 2:2-3). To become spiritually mature, you must grow in Christ. Just as physical growth is not always easy, spiritual growth is not either, but it is necessary to become mature.
While we all understand how humans physically mature (which doesn’t necessarily tie to mental maturation), some may not understand how to spiritually mature. Like salvation, it begins with Christ. It doesn’t matter where in your spiritual life you are, you can grow and gain wisdom. Maybe you were saved 30 years ago and you’ve never grown spiritually, and maybe you were saved last night – it begins with Christ.
If you don’t have a desire for the pure spiritual milk (1 Peter 2:2), pray for it. Don’t think about it, don’t try to analyze it, don’t make excuses for it – just stop right now and pray. Ask God to give you a passion for prayer and learning His word. Ask Him.
Now take action.
Prayer, Bible study, Bible discussions, fellowship, must become an active part of your life. You need to develop your relationship with Jesus and grow in knowledge. These can be done no matter how long you’ve been saved. Continue on this path and allow God to change you. You won’t outgrow your shoes and your voice won’t drop, but you’ll definitely be changing. You will see the fruits of the spirit grow.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Galatians 5:22-23
To the growing Christian – which is all of us – look at the list of spiritual fruits that Paul gives us and if you’re lacking in something (be honest), you know what to do. Pray about it.
Being a Christian is a journey for life. It’s not always easy, but it’s who you are. Trust God. Really trust Him. Know God. Really know Him. No matter where you are in your journey or what you’re facing, He has the answers. He’s always with you and He loves you more than you can comprehend.
Churches and Christians everywhere should understand that newly saved Christians need to grow in Truth and be ever mindful of that. Discipleship is vital to a new babe in Christ. Sometimes it’s difficult to identify a person who has been saved for many years yet hasn’t grown spiritually. This person is typically an adult and either through habit or purpose can mask their failure to grow to a great extent. However, they need discipleship just as much as the newly saved. And don’t put the spiritually immature in a leadership position. Just don’t. Scripture tells you not to do that and God knows what He’s doing.
Spiritual maturity is discussed throughout scripture. Jesus talks about it. The book of James is all about being spiritually mature. Paul wrote about it, Peter, and more.
So that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.
Colossians 1:10
I encourage you to look up more scriptures on spiritual maturity. Here’s a few to start with:
To the more mature Christian – don’t think discipleship is something that doesn’t apply to you – that your church will assign someone to a newly saved person, or anyone else who needs it, to walk alongside them. You can be a leader to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Yes, YOU. That’s what you’re here for – to spread the gospel. You’ll be blessed in the doing.
The kingdom of God is like this, a man scatters seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. The soil produces a crop by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain on the head.
Mark 4:26-28
All babies start out on milk and progress to solid food. It is the same in our spiritual life. God wants us to grow and be filled with solid spiritual food. We are to be sustained by the Bread of Life.
Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.
Hebrews 5:12-14
Now, I’m sure I wasn’t really the worst teenager in the world. Having taught high school for almost 20 years, I’ve seen others who probably come closer to qualifying for that than I did, but I understood a lot about why they sometimes acted as they did.
What I wish I’d have known in my spiritual youth is how important my growth was and how I could cultivate that. That’s what I’m sharing with you now. I want you to know how good and fulfilling solid spiritual food is. My spiritual growth was stunted for quite some time, and I had no idea what I was even missing. That’s part of my journey. I just want everyone to know Jesus as I know Him, and I’ve got so much more to learn. But there’s nothing more important in life than knowing God. Your life will be so blessed for the knowing. You’ll have a sense of peace and joy that can’t be explained. The love you’ll feel will fill you up and spill over into every part of your life. You will be grounded in faith and secure in the assurance of eternity. There will be obstacles to overcome, mountains to climb, and valleys to emerge from, but by knowing God you’ll do it all from the standpoint of victory.
Don’t wait another day, another hour, not even another minute. If you haven’t already started your journey for life with the Lord, start today. For those of you who are already on that journey, keep going, keep growing, and keep sharing.
Pray for one another, and me, as we continue our journey.
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Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash
Good one! You weren’t exactly the worst teenager 🙂 You had two older brothers!
Well, that is true! Love you!