Spiritual Maturity

A girl born into a Muslim family was beaten and disowned for her Christian faith. Another woman was thrown into jail and endured countless trials in the prison work camps for speaking out in faith. A young man was stoned because he would not deny Jesus. A teenage girl stood up for her faith and was shot in consequence. A father and his two sons brought much needed medical attention and hope to a tribe, only to be burned alive by a neighboring tribe. These incredible men and women of faith, some martyrs, while others still fight, display a deep sense of spiritual maturity. They chose their faith and their God over comfort, stability, even life itself. Here inlays the true question: how do we reach this point in our spiritual maturity? Does it happen overnight, or is it carefully cultivated and grown, like our minds?
When I was a child, I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart. I did not know what that truly meant and how it would affect my life. All I knew is that I wanted what the teachers were talking about. Being a child is who Jesus wants us to be. Children simply accept the gift put in front of them. They do not ask questions, and they do not try to prove that they deserve the gift. When we accept Jesus as a child, we do not try to build ourselves up, or attempt to look better than what we are. At the core of our faith, our spiritual maturity, lays the desire to be childlike. Without this principle, we cannot grow in the way that God wants us to grow. Jesus repeats the importance of becoming like a child. “Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.’” Matthew 18:2-4. Mentally, a child’s mind is exploring. It wants to try new things, to get a taste of life. When this taste of a relationship is put in their mouths, they are naturally curious, and want to know and obtain more. If nothing prohibits them from the whole bite, then they will take and accept all of it, no questions asked.
When I started growing up, my drive for knowledge was unquenchable. I wanted as much as my teachers and parents could give me. My mind was developing. I was asking questions. I see this in children at school and church. Their favorite question to ask is “Why?” They are analyzing things in a new light. You can watch the intensity in their eyes as they are faced with a difficult problem. Consequently, you begin to ask more questions about your faith. We know the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Moses and the Red Sea, David and Goliath, and countless others; but why are they written? When we never ask the question why, our spiritual maturity is choked. We become brilliant in the stories and their meanings, but when we never ask why they are important, we starve our relationship with God.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” 1 Corinthians 13:11. As a child, we take things for face value, not really wondering why they are a certain way. In a few years’ time, we ask questions, seeking the “whys” and the “hows” in life. When we put childish ways behind us, we look to see how different situations affect our lives. We want to know what our faith means to us. When we fully know what our faith means to us, “We will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” Ephesians 4:14. Just as when someone lies to us, we search to find the fault in their ways.
As humans, we strive for knowledge. We want to know everything that we possibly can. For us, complete understanding is impossible, but so is spiritual maturity. There is always more to learn, and more ways to grow. As we continue to ask questions, our minds grow sharper. When our questions are geared towards our spirituality, our faith matures. The relationship between the growth of our minds and the growth of our spiritual lives is incredible and irreplaceable.