Maturity

Hebrews 6:1-3 and 11-12 - Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so…… We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.  We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Sorry...I am verse jumping again…but these are the verses that spoke to me as a read. God is calling each of us to a new maturity….to push ourselves to new levels God love for the God who saved us. It is no accident that as I write and process this scripture I read two nights ago…that God is teaching me this lesson in more ways than just reading it in his Bible.

My mom has been so sick…pneumonia…it saps the life right out of your body.  I am watching her improve daily….feeding herself was such a task that she needed help just to span the full distance from the plate to her mouth.  She ‘might’ get to sit up in a chair today…and we will celebrate those seeming baby steps.  Each small task prepares her to something more difficult…feeding herself will lead to  combing her own hair….sitting up in a chair will lead to walking soon. We want to baby her…do it all for her…and let her rest…but she won’t get stronger that way.  She has to push herself to do more than she feels she can…so her weak muscles will regain all the strength she had before she got sick.

Our Christian walk should be no different…we should push ourselves to do more than we think we should.  We should never let anyone baby us…even though that feels so safe and good sometimes…even though we get so tired sometimes that we want to give up.  Like Jesus…when he walked this Earth…we must push ourselves beyond what the world expects.  We must stay at the temple when we are only 13….for two extra days…studying the scripture.  We must heal and preach and teach …even when we are so tired we must depend on God’s strength instead of our own. We must never be lazy.

Thank you God for your word that reminds me to push myself farther than I think I can go.  Forgive me for all the days I was lazy…and depended on others to feed me just enough to call myself your child.  Help me to push myself farther than I think I can go and learn more each day than I think my brain can hold. Give me the power to depend on you to give me just the wisdom you know I need each day. Amen.