“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as 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…” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2; NKJV)
At the age of 14 my dad made sure to remind me in quite the facetious way, “You never know more than you do at 14.” I think I got that for the remainder of my teen years. As a teenager I believed I had so much more of life figured out than I was given credit for. The issue wasn’t so much about what I knew of life at that age, the concern was around my maturity in handling various aspects of life at the time.
It took me until my later teen years to begin to look back several years prior and really see my growth. If in a few short years I can change that much, I can’t imagine what my perception of life will be like in a few more. I haven’t stopped maturing. I look up in admiration to those wiser than me and try to learn from them.
New believers who turn their lives over to Christ, may long for enlightenment. I remained a babe in my Christian walk for a long time. I was not taking in the “meat” of the word nor was I engaging in fellowship with other believers. I suppose I was like the seed that landed on stony ground in Mark chapter 4’s parable of the sower.
Growth takes time. I don’t believe there is a single person walking the face of this earth that has “arrived”. I am not a spiritual giant; I am sinner who longs to do better and be better in the sight of God. I didn’t come to this point in my faith overnight, but after years of relationship with God. I know His love for me because through trials and faith He has sustained me. He disciplines me with love and humbles me through His word.
Just as learning to drive and receiving my first paycheck didn’t come without work, neither does growth in the Lord. We need to be willing to move forward and grow if we are going to be mature in our faith.
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