Grow Up!

How mature would you say that your faith is?  Is it in its infancy, learning the first steps of the Christian walk?  Is it a bit further along, perhaps past the reading of the Gospels into the deeper books of the Bible, mining them for nuggets of truth?  Perhaps your walk is deeply spiritually mature.  Maybe you spend many minutes of the day either in the Word or in prayer.  Maybe your connection with the Father is deep and growing daily.

Chances are though; we are still like the spiritual infants that Paul speaks of in so many of his letters.   The fact is, for many years churches have been so concerned about getting people “saved” that they have neglected making disciples.  I grew up in the Baptist church and in my own walk this has often been the case.  I have often felt left to fend for myself when it comes to my growth as a believer. 

My pastor made the point that the reason he can’t deliver his sermons on a deeper level is because most of us aren’t spiritually mature enough to handle it.  This is a sad indictment on the American church.  We seem to be content to be saved but unwilling to go much further in our walk with Christ. 

So what is the answer? 

I believe that one key component is for the spiritually mature among us to step up and make an impact in the lives of other less mature believers among us.  My wife and I were examining our own lives and realize that we can count very few believers in our own lives that we see as mature enough to guide, mentor, and impact us as Jesus impacted his disciples.  This is definitely not how I wish it to be.

I believe that we have a duty as Christians to build up and edify other believers: the body of Christ.  When we neglect this aspect of our faith, we not only miss out on the blessing of building others up, but our walk stays shallow, as well. 

A few years ago, we recognized the need for a Newlyweds/engaged couples class within our church.  Although I am not an expert on the subject, I do have a strong Christian marriage and a heart for the young and in love.  So for three years, we taught this class and hopefully impacted several marriages for the better.  In the process, my wife and I were able to grow and mature in our own faith and marriage.

I would urge you to examine your walk with the Lord.  Are you where you want to be?  Are you impacting others and making disciples or is your walk stagnant and unmoving?  My challenge to each of us is to find someone that you can build up and don’t be surprised if in the process you find yourself walking a little closer to Jesus.