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Who could doubt the personal relationship between
parents and their newborn baby in the hospital nursery.
Just as some babies do not grow and thrive, many
children of God follow a similar pattern. Sometimes growth starts and
then stalls. Even though God Himself is committed to bring us to eventual
maturity, He often allows us to remain infantile in our attitudes and
knowledge of Him.
The apostle Paul addressed this issue of immaturity
and lack of growth when he wrote:
I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual
people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and
not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and
even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where
there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and
behaving like mere men? (1 Cor. 3:1-3).
Expect a process.
Growing to maturity takes equal amounts of diligence and patience. On one
hand, we must never be satisfied with the level of our relationship and knowledge
of God. If we are, we'll stagnate, sour, and go backward. On the other
hand, we must be patient with ourselves and not expect more than God
expects of us.
Scripture shows that this maturity doesn't happen
overnight. It requires time--time with God, and time in His Word. For
that reason Peter wrote, "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of
the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the
Lord is gracious" (1 Pet. 2:2-3). James supported the progressive
nature of this relationship with God when he wrote, "My brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the
testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing"
(1:2-4).
Don't rush the process. But don't let it stop.
Continue to feed on the Word of God even as you allow Him to show Himself
faithful in the seasons, tests, and troubles of life. Don't expect
perfection. We will fail. Be content to be learning and growing. Don't be
like the homeowner who planted a garden, only to dig it up 2 weeks later
because he didn't have tomatoes yet.
Expect change.
Because of the very nature of spiritual life, our relationship with the
Lord will change. It will change because as we go forward we will always
find more--more knowledge and experience of God that will stretch us,
enlarge our hearts, and make us better.
Our relationship with God can also change for the
worse, however, if we begin to coast and rely on past experiences with
Him. We must expect change because our relationship with Him is by nature
a contested issue. Our adversary, the devil, won't be satisfied until he
neutralizes us and we slip into a spiritual coma (Eph. 6:10-13).
Although our personal relationship with God can
never be lost, the characteristics of that relationship will change. We
will change. Count on it. Our hearts will either grow warmer or colder.
Our character will either deepen or thin out. Our conversations with God
will either become more intimate or less meaningful and less frequent.
Allow for incompleteness.
Speaking of our incomplete relationship with God, Paul said:
For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But
when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done
away. . . . For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now
I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now
abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love
(1 Cor. 13:9-10,12-13).
That's the realism we're faced with. Our knowledge
and experience are incomplete. It's as if we are looking at the face of
God through a clouded glass. But then it will be face to face. In the
meantime, we have our orders. We must accept our incompleteness, trust God,
and put our hope in His imminent return. We are to love God and His
imperfect family with all of our heart. We can't afford to demand
perfection of ourselves. Neither should we demand it of others. The
holiness and growth that God is looking for will be seen in our
brokenness and humility, not in our spiritual perfection.
Don't expect heaven now.
Not only is it important for us to give ourselves time to grow in the
Lord, but it is also essential that we take time to let Him show Himself
absolutely faithful and satisfying to us. But don't expect in this life
what He has promised to complete in eternity.
We who trust in Christ are people of eternity. There
are no time limits on our future. We are not like the professional
athlete who has to reach his goals and make his money and a name for
himself in just a few short years before he loses his competitive edge.
Having a relationship with God is not a way to get
everything we want in life. It is not the key to financial success, good
health, and long life. It is, however, the way to find increasing amounts
of inner love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). It is a means of finding the ultimate
relationship, the ultimate purpose, the ultimate mission, the ultimate
security, the ultimate hope.
All that remains for us is to trust Christ for what
we cannot now see or have. We need to believe that what Christ said to
His disciples is still true:
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,
believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to
Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (Jn. 14:1-3).
That is our hope. We should not expect the Lord to
give us everything we crave now. While He has promised to provide for the
needs of all who follow Him, He also reserves the right to determine what
we need now and what we will be able to enjoy more if it is deferred
until later.
Curtis
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