All grown up?

There are 70 year old people who are still infantile, and there are 16 year old people who show amazing maturity. Immature people carry on and cry, demanding that someone clean up their mess and make them happy! One trait of maturity is the ability to deal with adversity while staying steady, the ability to deal with reality in life. I am not talking about stoicism that disallows emotions, nor am I describing a robotic approach to life. Maturity does not mean we give up on laughter or sorrow. Some do, but in so doing they become poorer, not richer. Maturity allows us to 'take a hit' without collapsing and quitting. It gives us the ability to deal with life with genuine faith that God's purposes prevail; that He is working out those purposes in and through us. And how do we get to that point? By letting God lead us, step by step, through situations that teach us to trust Him completely!

Our model for this kind of maturity is Jesus. In Hebrews we are told - "While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him." (Hebrews 5:7-10, The Message) The sinless Son of God had to endure suffering to accomplish His mission, to bring God's plan to set the world free from sin and death. He had to walk through an escalating series of difficult experiences that ended at the Cross to get it done. Then, in the fullness that His suffering purchased, He became the Life-giver.

I want to be a life-giver, don't you? I want my life to be full of God's grace, rich in mature acceptance of His favor, so that I am able to lift up people who are broken, helping them to heal. I want to be secure in God's love, richly mature, so that I can pour love on the unlovely! I want to be wise in God's purposes, matured through adversity, so that I can be a source of encouragement for those in times of distress. Mature Christians who are 'sources' of life are needed in the Church. Too many Believers are 'sponges' who draw in attention, soaking up resources - perpetually locked into infancy.

Think of it in terms of the natural life-cycle. We were born into this world, naked, nearly blind, and totally helpless. Without parents to nurture us and care for us we would have died quickly! Gradually over the next two decades, we became independent. We learned to care for ourselves, to think of others, to provide for our needs, to anticipate future needs, and to become productive, contributing adults in the world. As much as I love being Jay's, Sean's, Christine's, and Maribel's Dad - I sure would be sad if they were all still home, living off of me, unable to sustain their own life, now that they are in their mid to late 20's! I am still a resource to them, an advisor, an encourager to steady them when they need it. But, they now have their own lives as they have matured into adulthood. My greatest joy is seeing them now starting to give out to the people they live and work among!

How did my kids move from being 'takers' to 'givers?' By learning maturity - often in painfully difficult lessons. Many times I wanted to step in and take the pain, absorbing the blows that life was handing to them, but I didn't. Why? Because I knew it was part of being 'all grown up.' They had to be allowed to make mistakes, to feel the consequences of their actions - positive and negative. My parental responsibility wasn't to remove all the pain, but to keep them from making fatal mistakes, appropriately guiding them toward maturity.

The Bible encourages us to see the situations that cause us pain as an opportunity to grow up. "Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want." (1 Peter 4:1-2, The Message) Learn to think like Him!

The joy of maturity is its great freedom. A person who has learned to live with a long view, who knows that the 'sun will come up tomorrow,' despite apparent evidence to the contrary today, who understands that temptation and tests are temporary, is richly resourced for a great life. So, I urge you to accept the reality of your life without demanding that God or somebody else 'make it all better.' Instead, take His hand and let Him lead you through it as He guides you into full maturity. And in that place, you will become a person of great value to the Kingdom of Heaven, a life-giver in a world of death. And your Father in Heaven will approve, taking joy in your productive work in His world.