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Maturity in Christ If you look closely inside most homes, either in the lounge, bedroom or bathroom, you will most likely find on the side of the door or the door-jam, some markings. They may even have a date written alongside them. You know what I’m referring to – it’s the little markings we made as our children got to that age where they, or their parents, were taking an interest in their growth. The little marks indicated their rate of growth. And we hoped that as they grew, they would also mature, didn’t we? Maturity, however, is not quite as easy, to measure as growth, is it? The dictionary defines maturity as : “acting or seeming like an adult: showing mental, emotional, or physical characteristics that are typical of a fully developed adult person.” At a recent meeting of young achievers, the guest speaker spoke to the students about what it meant to be an adult. She said the sign that you are becoming an adult is when you accept responsibility for your own actions, when you respect others and when you consider the needs of others more than yourself. Many people may grow older in years but never mature. We have all seen or heard of adults who, if they don’t get their own way, throw the equivalent of child temper tantrums, a sure indication of their im-maturity!. Today, in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 3, St. Paul looks at this matter of our spiritual maturity, and he prays for his readers in order that they will grow into fully “spiritually mature” follows of Christ. This should also be our aim and our goal. In chapter 1, Paul spoke about all the blessings we have – through our union with Christ., In chapter 2, (last week) we read about being Alive in Christ – of that new awareness of God’s grace and presence with us, and so today we come into chapter 3 where Paul prays that we might all be Mature in Christ. 1/ Blessings in Christ; 2/ Alive in Christ, 3/ Maturity in Christ. As Paul prays for the believers maturity, we need to remember at the outset, that he is not praying that they might “receive” something that they don’t already have! As followers of Christ we have available to us all that we need. We have all the blessings of Christ, and that includes all that we need in order for us to mature spiritually! Paul prays that the believers may have Power, may have Faith and may have Love. All those three we already have in Jesus Christ, just as a baby has arms and legs and everything he or she needs for life – but they must grow and strengthen and develop them. In the same way, Paul prays that we may grow and develop and mature in these three vital areas – in Power, in Faith, and in Love. Firstly, Paul prays (vs16) – that we might be strengthened in our inner being, by the power of his Spirit. In verse 19 he puts it slightly differently that we might be “completely filled” with the very nature of God. The inner being, or “inner self” which Paul refers to here includes our reason, our conscience and our will. Each day temptation will come our way where it could be easier to compromise our morals or ethics, or to deny the faith we hold, - and each day we will need to be strengthened by God power in our inner being if we are to stay true. We will be challenged to choose the easy path and our own will, rather than the harder path and the Jesus way. When no one is looking the temptation is to give in to our lower nature, to let our thoughts wander and lead our imagination into wrong areas; When Jesus was tempted , he drew on the power of the Holy spirit, and was strengthened in his inner being. The same power was at work in him in the Garden of Gethsemane, strengthening him in his resolve to do the Father’s Will, rather than his own. The power of God’s Holy Spirit is available for each of us too as we need to be strengthened daily in our inner being to pursue God’s Will rather than our own.. We need simply ask! So, 1astly, Paul prays that we might be strengthened by His Power in our inner being. As we desire and receive that strengthening, so there is evidence that we are beginning to mature in the faith. Secondly, Paul prays that Christ may make his home in our hearts through faith. Vs. 17. The word Paul uses here for making his home in our hearts, is the word used for a permanent dwelling, not a temporary tent or shelter. Have you ever had people come to stay? I remember a friend once telling me that having people to stay is like having fish in the house! The first day it’s fantastic. The second day is not so bad, but not as good as the first. The third day it starts to go a bit stale and old, and by the fourth day it starts to stink! Its often ok to have people for a day or two because we can put up with a bit of temporary disruption to our lifestyle. But if someone comes to stay permanently it usually requires some major adjustment. So it is when we ask Christ to come into our lives. This is not a temporary short-term bed & breakfast stay for a day or two!. If you ask Christ to come into your life I trust you want it to be permanent, and that means you will have to be prepared for some changes. We begin to mature when we have settled that decision and asked Jesus Christ to make his home permanently in our hearts. So we begin to mature in Christ when 1/ we are strengthened by his power in our inner being, and 2/ when Jesus Christ makes his home in our hearts through faith. And then Thirdly, we are on the right path to maturity when our roots and foundations are in love. ( vs 17) I think Paul might have in his minds eye a picture of a tree putting down its roots into good moist soil. The further the tree puts down its roots into that kind of soil, the more goodness it draws up, the stronger it will be and the more the tree will bear good fruit. There is no better food or foundation for our lives than love; A true sign of maturity is that we are becoming more loving towards others. In another letter Paul refers to the three greatest things of all – “faith, hope and love, and he says the greatest of these is love. It is love that we should strive for!” Are our lives as loving and as caring towards others as they could be ? - that will be a reflection of how mature or immature we are. Jesus showed us the true nature of love – it was not to do his own will, but the will of the Father. Our lives will never give out love if we don’t draw it in. And the only place we can draw it from in abundance is from Christ himself. When we begin to put our roots down into the soil of Jesus Christ, then we will begin to discover that there is no limit to what we can draw upon. We will begin to know the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, and so be filled with the fullness of God. The marks on the bathroom door may indicate the physical stages of growth of our children, but our maturity as Christ followers will be evident only as we are 1/strengthened in our inner being, by the power of his Spirit; 2/ - as Christ is invited to make his home in our hearts through faith; and 3/, when our roots and foundations are put down deep into the love of God. |
