Maturity

The Bible calls for the followers of Christ to be mature.  Every person who becomes a Christian begins as a newborn, a babe in Christ.  This babe has limited knowledge of the Bible and even limited understanding.  Just as a newborn baby is born without maturity, so is the new Christian.  This comparison between babe and mature is made in several places, one being Hebrews 5, beginning with verse 12: "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's Word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food!"  It is important that we concentrate on maturing in our knowledge and faith. 

As we read on in Hebrews chapter 6, we see more specifics on what this maturing process is.  "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands,the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."  Some of these subjects seem rather deep to me; but we are told to mature beyond these things.  As it says at the end of chapter 5, "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."  It would seem from this statement that it is important to train ourselves more and more to "distinguish good from evil."  Another verse in this passage says that the "infant is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness."  It seems clear that the mature person is one who is focused on teaching about "righteousness." 

So it is interesting to see how the NT shows that our emphasis changes with the maturing process.  It isn't that we aren't concerned with the elementary principles stated above; it is just that we have dealt with these things and then moved on to more important subjects, focusing on righteousness and discerning good from evil.

This is not a directed message to any one person.....at all.  This is a lesson for us all to keep our focus, keep on maturing, learning, growing, and especially seeking; seeking God, seeking righteousness, seeking salvation where we can live forever with Him!

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great week!