Be A Giant

Recently I saw a cartoon of a teen-aged boy angrily addressing his parents with the caption, “I will stand here and hold my breath until you guys start treating me like an adult!” If you work in the public, you have probably seen people like that. They never seem to grow up. They expect a free ride with no contribution or effort of their own.  They want what they want when they want it. Period!

As parents, we certainly don’t long for our children to remain as dependent and demanding as a newborn. Precious as they are, let’s face it… newborns are exhausting! Their only way to communicate is crying when their needs are not met. They have to be fed eight times a day! When you try to give them something besides milk, they spit it out all over everything! They make messes that you are expected to clean up and they cost a whole lot of money and never offer to do anything at all to cover their own expenses.

Growth and maturity is a good thing. It means things are going as they are supposed to go. Lessons are being learned. Character is being formed. Independence is being achieved. We were not intended to remain in our infancy. This is true physically, emotionally and spiritually. We don’t stay tiny. We don’t stay whiny (hopefully). So why, in our culture, do we accept that it is proper to remain infants spiritually?

I have a theory. We have no control over our physical growth. Nature takes us from newborn to adult in a matter of a couple of decades. Our culture pressures us to mature emotionally. Nobody likes a whiner! When it comes to our spiritual growth, that is completely on us... and we call it a "private matter." Nature and culture are no help at all. In fact, sometimes the opposite is true!  We alone must decide if we want to take the next steps after saying “yes” to following Jesus. Sometimes it's as if we have our “fire insurance” and feel pretty comfortable with being a good citizen and belonging to a church. It is that comfort that inoculates us against growth and keeps us in spiritual infancy. It keeps us from growing and developing into the person God created us to be. It keeps us from fulfilling the plan God created us to accomplish.

What does it even look like to mature spiritually? It looks like getting to know what Jesus has to say about living life. It looks like walking with others who are doing the same and providing accountability for each other. It looks like making decisions based on what Jesus said rather than what our culture says. It looks like quiet time to listen to Him. It looks like loving people that can never love you back. It looks like going the second mile when nobody will ever know that it was you who did so. It looks like preferring others above yourself. It looks like being a disciple that makes disciples.

Spiritual maturity looks like the church being the CHURCH that Paul described to the Ephesians … working together; building each other up; teaching; guiding; encouraging.

Spiritual maturity looks like peace in the storm and inexplicable joy, even when life stinks!

Parents, that is what you want for your kids, right? 

Teach your children well by growing into a spiritual giant they can see, head and shoulders above the crowd. The crowd is not leading them to Jesus.  This may sound like a job that is too big for you. Remember how you felt the first time you held them in your arms? That overwhelming doubt in your ability to raise a human? You didn't resign or give up, but did what you knew to do, learned what you needed to know and put all you had into keeping them alive! 

You can be their spiritual giant. That is not a distinction reserved for Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, John Wesley and the Apostle Paul. It is actually expected of all who call Jesus, LORD. It was His plan that you should grow into a disciple that would make disciples. Walk that path before them. Find ways to insure that you are growing more like Christ. Be very conscious of the legacy you are leaving for them. They are right behind you.