TODAY… We Mature

What does it mean to be mature? This is a question that has come up in my mind this week, and it’s one that has been left slightly unanswered and vague since the question first came into my head years ago. I can remember as a 5th grader hearing a fellow classmate of mine tell a boy who was quite rowdy and rambunctious to “stop acting so immature.” Have you ever heard that phrase before? “Why don’t you act your age?” “Be more mature!” All of these and more are statements that are thought and uttered by 5th graders and adults alike. So, what does it mean to be immature? Or to be mature?
 
As I looked up several definitions of “maturity,” I came across a holistic understanding of it to be something that is complete, or final, or when something reaches its full development or potential. This is something not based entirely on age, or experience, or education. Maturity is not just something that is physical, but it is also emotional and spiritual as well.
 
There are numerous places in the New Testament where the Biblical writers discuss spiritual maturity. As we prepare for this coming Sunday, in the continuation of our “Today” series, we find another example of this in Hebrews chapters 5-6. This Scriptural call to maturity is a call to perfection, to completion, to a fullness that if we’re honest is unattainable for us alone. That is what sets the Biblical call to maturity apart from how many of us view it and experience it in our society today. The Biblical call to maturity is one that relies on a dependence upon Christ. It is a journey of perseverance, of being daily renewed in the Word, of being regularly connected with what Christ is doing in and among our lives. A Biblical call to maturity is not one that results in self-reliance, self-fulfillment, or self-confidence. Rather, a Biblical call to maturity is to realize that we are utterly and completely reliant, filled up, and overflowing with the confidence given to us through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is when we realize His greatness in the scope of our lives that a mature perspective takes place. May it be our prayer that we would each grow and mature into the fullness of Christ. That is His desire for us, and He promises to help us along the way.
 
Pastor Ben