Growing up

that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him both who is the head—Christ— - Ephesians 4.14-15

We used to tease our children, and now we tease our grandchildren, about growing up too fast. We talked about tying a brick on their heads so that couldn’t grow any more. It was always good for a laugh, and they felt good about how big they were getting.

Of course we didn’t want that to happen. Some of the saddest stories I have ever seen are about children who never grow up. You see children who because of physical or mental incapacity just don’t grow up. And that is terribly sad.

I would never make light of that tragic situation, but it does illustrate what it is like when Christians refuse to grow up. It is not natural. That failure to grow is what makes us unstable so that we can be tossed about.

Growth is part of life. In a 'normal. life they will always be growing - and thus it is for the believer. If there is no growth something is definitely wrong. Paul says here that 'we should no longer be children...[but that] we may grow up into all things into Him who is the head - Christ.'

I think we need to ask ourselves if we are growing up. Are we any more spiritually mature than we were 6 months or a year or 10 years ago?