Make Me Grow Up!
Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16
“But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”
Children grow. There is no way to avoid it. Babies quickly become toddlers, then in no time they are graduating from high school and college.
As adults, we may not grow physically but we should continue to develop mentally and spiritually. We cannot truly share the good news of God’s love if our own faith and knowledge are still at the kindergarten level.
The most disappointing part of my years as a certified church educator has been the large number of older youth and adults who are never part of any serious group study of the Bible. We are somehow giving the message that most Christians know all they need to know about the Bible by the time they are 14 or 15. Yet the Bible is basically an adult book, written for those of mature understanding and experience.
Continuing education is not just for the secular world. We who are members of Christ’s church, his body on earth, are also expected to develop, growing into Christ day by day.
For Reflection: When did I last learn something new about my relationship with God?
A Prayer Seed:
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o’er-flow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.
Frances Ridley Havergal, 1872
