The concept of maturity has less to do with chronological age than with wisdom and the ability to make well thought out decisions in life. Likewise the time one has been in church, or a Christan does not always make that person a mature Christan. A mature Christian is one who takes the information and directions of the scriptures and actually applies them to the everyday challenges of their lives.
The greatest challenge I find as a Christian is to deny my natural impulses and inclinations in any specific situation. In Colossians 3:5 we are told to put to death, therefore, whats ever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity,lust, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry. The Apostle Paul shares with us in Romans 7:15-24 how difficult it was for him to deal with his fleshly desires or a daily bases. The more we read and internalize God's Word we will gradually be able to resist some of the urges of our flesh. Of course we all know the pleasure urges are the most difficult to suppress. Christians have real problems with adultery and fornication which becomes the "Elephant in The Living Room", at many churches. Paul had the same problem at the Church at Corinth. The scriptures in 1 Corinthians tell of a man in the church who was having sex with his step mother. He must have been a big tither, or a VIP, because the church said nothing and did nothing. Paul, because of this situation, said something that is startling to most Christians. He says in 1 Corinthians 5:10 that you don't have to dissociate yourselves from unbelievers, because you need to evangelize them. However, you should distance yourself from those who profess to be Christians and openly indulge in behaviors forbidden by the scriptures. I didn't say this Paul said it!
I have found that over the years, the more I study, those fleshly desires have diminished and some have disappeared. None of us are perfect, we are all a work in progress. But a measurable sign of spiritual growth is the time it takes me to recovery from a lapse into the flesh. The time it takes me, after my sin, to confess and repent is a sign of maturity. For many of us there is lots of confession and little repentance.
Jesus does not want us to have to suffer the natural consequences of immorality and impurity. In our community the number of children born out of marriage, and broken families have lead to generations of poverty, abuse, HIV/AIDS and incarceration. We become our own worst enemy and a slave to our desires. All the federal aid, welfare, special programs will not fix these problems, only a change of heart and spirit will!
No comments:
Post a Comment