“Are we there yet?”
I can remember as a child travelling away with my family on holidays. Being young and eager to get out at our destination to play, I can remember being exasperated at how long it seemed to take for us to “get there”.
Whilst as adults we seem to become more patient as we grow, there remains a part of us that is anxious to know if “we’ve arrived” in life.
In terms of our Christian walk, this side of eternity, we are continually on a road to maturity as we grow up into the fullness of Christ. This is the calling of the church according to Ephesians 4, to build up the body of Christ
“until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (verse 13)
The word “mature” (Greek: Teleios) literally means “perfection” or “to be complete”. Now, if we are on this journey through life with God the answer to our question “have we arrived yet?” is NO! But we are on the road towards it.
If ever you are wondering “what on earth God is doing with your life?”, you can be assured of the answer.
He is maturing you! He is completing you. He is perfecting you. He is working in and through you to bring you to a place where you grow up to “mature manhood” in the “fullness of Christ”.
This is the road to maturity that all of us are on. Recognising this can be exceptionally liberating.
No longer are we shadow boxing or sulking in offence towards God because of what we’re going through. Instead, we are able to discern how God is at work in our lives, how He is using those circumstances we are facing, how He is using it to refine us and, ultimately, what sort of response He is looking for us to give.
It might be to repent.
It might be to “be still” and trust Him.
It might be to pray and contend.
It might be to prophesy His truth.
It could well be all these things and more. But it starts with recognising that God is at work.
When we recognise God’s purpose is to bring us to a place of greater maturity, we’re able to come into agreement with God concerning it. Whenever we surrender our agendas and submit to His, we allow Him to forge in us more of the likeness of Jesus Christ.
And that’s maturity.
Photo by Hector Perez from Pexels
Thank you…I needed this message for my life today.It’s so comforting to know that God is constantly at work in our lives,and many times on our way to maturity,we only have to learn to pray…and “be still”,trusting that God is working,and always will,simply because He loves us,and wants to bring us to perfection in Him,through occupying ALL our hearts,and not only a part….
So glad to hear that Nevine 🙂
And I love the phrase you used “occupying all our hearts” – what a great image!
Maturity’s great and all. I’d just like to get there faster. 🙂
Haha, I know the feeling Josh 🙂
In the words of kids “this is taking forever!”
Sometimes I do wonder where God is in my life. I know that He’s working behind the scenes to prepare me for His glory. He’s getting me ready to share His awesomeness in my life. But when my life is mundane and I can’t see or feel His presence, it makes me question Him. When I do that God always answer me in a unique way.
I know that I’m not there yet. But by His grace I’m on the road to getting there.
Hi June, someone once told me to never assess or measure our lives day to day or even week to week. Rather we should assess our lives year to year because it is only over a longer period of time we see true change, growth and development. I think there is great truth in that. Like you say, day to day things can seem mundane and stagnant, but that belies the truth we know that God is up to something and is always at work!
Be blessed on the road of His grace 🙂