GROW UP!

Recently, I found an article written by Ken Miller, a pastor in a church in the DFW area...and I want to share it's contents with you. So, read and enjoy!

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good”

(1 Peter 2:2-3 NIV)

"...but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ”

(Ephesians 4:15 NASB)

Grow up!

Boy, how many times have I heard that statement over the years? Fortunately, I seem to be hearing it less these days, but there was a time when it was a recurring theme in my life (especially in my younger days). But this phrase isn’t always reserved for children. The sad case is that many of us as adults have been told to grow up and act our age on more than one occasion, usually because we were behaving in a way that was neither normal nor particularly attractive. Of course, we can allow these remarks to offend us or enlighten us to the need for change.

So what do we do with all the Bible’s admonitions to “grow up?” It’s an inescapable fact that the Scriptures expect and demand maturity. The New Testament is chock-full of admonitions to grow up spiritually. Just check out these verses:

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV).

“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13 NASB).

“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14 NIV).

“We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28 NET).

“So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding” (Hebrews 6:1 NLT).

Spiritual growth or maturity is a non-optional priority for any Christ-follower. It is a clear expectation that we are to grow in Christlikeness. And we have an active role to play in our pursuit of holiness:

“So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12 NIV).

“… throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception” (Ephesians 4:22 NLT).

“… put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:24 NASB).

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13 NIV).

“Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand …” (2 Corinthians 10:15 NIV).

While it’s true that our spiritual growth is totally dependent upon things outside of ourselves — the transforming power of the Word, the empowering presence of the Spirit, and the grace of God through Jesus Christ — we are never to be passive at any point in the process. Yes, Jesus did say “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NASB), and Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NASB), but notice that both use the word “do.” This clearly infers some kind of action on our part. We have to do something. God does not transform us independent of us.

Becoming Active In Spiritual Growth
So what’s your role in the spiritual transformation process? What can you do to become a more active participant in your own spiritual maturation? Well, the answer is to practice the spiritual disciplines — those timeless and time-tested spiritual activities that God has designed to accentuate and assist us in our pursuit of Christ-likeness.

In his book “The Spirit of the Disciplines,” Dallas Willard defines a discipline as “any activity within our power that we engage in to enable us to do what we cannot do by direct effort.” For a Christian who wants to grow, these activities can include prayer, Bible study, fasting, meditation, solitude and Scripture memorization. They are not magic elixirs that somehow inoculate us or transform us into super saints. They are simply habits or activities that provide opportunities for God to speak and His Holy Spirit to work. By doing them, we put ourselves in a place to hear from and be changed by God.

So why don’t more of us practice the spiritual disciplines? Partly because of the presence of the word “discipline.” It scares us. It sounds unpleasant and a little bit intimidating. And we live in a culture where we prefer gain without the pain. We want spirituality without the discipline, thank you very much. Willard says this: “It is part of the misguided and whimsical condition of humankind that we so devoutly believe in the power of effort-at-the-moment-of-action alone to accomplish what we want and completely ignore the need for character change in our lives as a whole.

The general human failing is to want what is right and important, but at the same time not to commit to the kind of life that will produce the action we know to be right and the condition we want to enjoy. This is the feature of human character that explains why the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We intend what is right, but we avoid the life that would make it a reality.”

How does this look in our lives? We read God’s Word sporadically. We pray infrequently and unexpectantly. We aren’t sure what meditation means, so we don’t do it at all. And our idea of solitude is a few minutes in front of the TV with the remote all to ourselves. We settle for life-as-usual.

No More Life-as-Usual
But for many of us, life-as-usual has not been fertile ground in which God can bring change. Willard writes that “life-as-usual must go.” You must take serious stock of your life and determine what you are doing that needs to change. You must assess what is missing that you need to add. Ask yourself these two questions:

1. What am I currently not doing that, if I were doing, would open myself up more to God's work of grace in my life?

2. What am I currently doing that, if eliminated, would open myself up more to God's work of grace in my life?

Spiritual growth is all about transformation — the slow, steady process of God molding fallen men and women into the image of His Son. So what are you doing to put yourself in the right place where God can work? Are you reading His Word daily? If not, then start today. Do you struggle with your prayer life? Pick up Bill Hybel’s book, “Too Busy Not to Pray” or another good book about prayer. Aren’t sure what to think about things like meditation and fasting? Read Dallas Willard’s book, “The Spirit of the Disciplines.”

Grace Is Opposed to Earning, Not Effort.
You have a role to play in your spiritual growth and the church exists to help you. But without your active participation, no efforts on our part can produce true spiritual change in your life. Foster writes that “superficiality is the curse of our age.” John Ortberg states that our greatest enemy in the spiritual life is hurry. We lack the time and the desire for the things of God, and so we fail to see measurable, visible growth. Dallas Willard warns us about the dangers of complacency: “The single most obvious trait of those who profess Christ but do not grow into Christ-likeness is their refusal to take the reasonable and time-tested measures for spiritual growth. I almost never meet someone in spiritual coldness, perplexity and distress who is regular in the use of those spiritual exercises that will be obvious to anyone familiar with the contents of the New Testament.”

So are you ready to grow up? If so, what are you doing to make it happen? Yes, it is ultimately up to God, but you do have a role to play, as Paul reminds us: “… continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:12-15 NIV).

Put into action God’s saving work in your life. Let your life shine brightly.

Grow up!