Christian Maturity Costs Alot

 Christian maturity begins with rebirth. Before God’s regenerating work in our lives, we were slaves. We were slaves to our sinful passions and desires, and we were slaves to ourselves.

We did not, nor could not, seek after God. Which means Christian maturity was not even possible. How can a dead plant grow?

We must start here. Christian maturity is not about winning God’s approval. God has given us new spiritual life, and He works with us to complete us. Christian maturity is God’s work. You’re not maturing by climbing a ladder or progressing in your effort. You’re growing because God and His Holy Spirit nourish you. We’re like plants basking in the sunshine.

Growing to the heavens

When we imagine maturity, we think linearly. We think of a timeline and about how through time, we will mature. I don’t think this illustration helps to understand Christian maturity.

It’s better to think vertical. Christian maturity is like a seed that grows and reaches for the heavens. It not only grows vertically, but as it grows vertically, it grows horizontally simultaneously. Pretty soon, the little seedling becomes a mighty oak.

When we mature as Christians, our love for God and our neighbor is what counts. Christian maturity is not about becoming a better person but about extending love to God and others. Mature Christians are not busy self-improving. Mature Christians are busily self-sacrificing for God’s people and the world in need around them.

The sun’s hot rays

Maturity is costly. There is a price to be paid for growth. If you want anything in this life, it will cost you.

When I think of my own experience, I imagine a desert. Not only does God nourish us, but He tests us. He never does this to destroy but to strengthen. God sends His perfect white hot heat towards us to refine us. We are like a gem or jewel refined in the fire. We are like a plant absorbing all that sunlight.

In my experience of being refined, there have been times when I couldn’t take the heat. But God has always given me what I’ve needed to keep marching on. Sometimes all I can imagine is a mirage of an eternal well. Sometimes it feels like God isn’t there, that I am alone.

When I’ve felt most alone are the times when God has been most visible to me. When it was darkest, God shined brightest. When it was hottest, God gave me what I needed to make it through. When I had nothing, is when I matured the most.

This is the paradox of Christian maturity. It never is about your strength but God’s strength to help you through.

Digging into the soil

Sometimes to grow, you’ve got to dig down. It’s not about uprooting but rooting yourself deep within God. It’s not about change but the reassurance of what you’ve already experienced with God.

The storms of life will come, and the mature Christian will survive the storms. In these moments, you will rely not on new things but the experiences with God you’ve already had.

You will trust Him, you will confide in him, and you will trust His strength, not your own. This only comes through experience with God. Day after Day, week after week, month after month, year after year, of rooting yourself in God. It’s about digging in the soil.

To grow

Christian maturity is ultimately up to God. He has done everything for us. Without Him, we wouldn’t be alive. We would be dead without the possibility of growth.

Growing is about loving. It’s about the vertical love we have with God. Once we have vertical love with God, we grow horizontally in our love for others.

Growth comes through self-sacrifice. Growth comes through basking in the hot sunshine. Everything costs something, and maturity is no different. When we come to the end of ourselves is when God shines brightest.

We must dig the soil and be rooted in God. So that when the storms of life come, we are ready. Through being rooted in God, there is nothing we cannot face.