On To Maturity

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Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.
Hebrews 6:11

In Hebrews 6, the writer encourages us to stop going over and over basic teachings about Christ such as repentance, faith, baptism, judgement etc. and instead move on to maturity. We might know all there is to know about our faith, we may even have degrees in theology and spend hours in the Bible, but still be immature.

James talks about real faith in James 2:18; But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. Our spiritual maturity is shown by our actions, words, relationships, obedience and how we interact with others.

Spiritual maturity in not an automatic result of time. It results from focused listening to the word of God and living out that word in fellowship with the community. George Guthrie.

This is a real challenge to me as I look back over my life. Having been a Christian for 26 years, I wonder whether I am really better at loving, doing and acting out my faith now than when I first started. One thing I know is that the people who have made the most impact in my life and meant the most have been the ones who loved me and showed their love by consistent action. I pray that I can learn to do the same.