Complete And Maturing In The Journey

What does it mean to mature as a Christian?

How would you answer that question?

Is it through tradition?

Is it having compassion for the poor, afflicted, and oppressed?

Is it sharing with others about God's love in Christ? 

And once you have settled on a definition of a mature Christian, how would you go about instructing, guiding, and strengthening yourself and others, to continually mature in Christ's likeness?

What is a mature Christian, and how do we as the body love, call, encourage, and challenge one another to mature in Christ's likeness?

When pondering these questions it is helpful to read the following passage—to gain a better perspective and understanding—in Philippians 3:12-14:

 

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

These verses are referring to us maturing into Christ-likeness and not in regards to our salvation as Christians—born again believers who are complete and whole upon believing. The journey towards Christ-likeness begins with a sense of honesty and dissatisfaction—hence the expression "press". And the Greek word press was used of a sprinter, and refers to one who is aggressive and energetic action.

Now that we have established that pressing is not in about striving, but about aggressively and energetically walking the journey set before us, we can see that Paul lived in a state of actively pursing the things of God—what God was leading and placing before him to do and complete. As Paul walked the path laid before him, he was sensitive to the Holy Spirits directing within him, which was an inward and ultimately manifestation of Christ-likeness.

Going deeper into these verses we see the words "lay hold", which in the Greek means "to make one's own possession". God chose Paul and equally Paul chose to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in laying hold of the things God was leading him in.

In order for us to live the sort of life that Paul lived, we need to see that we are complete and whole… forgetting those things that are behind, whatever—whether these things are past deeds and achievements or failures and sins—that maybe that we tend to let distract us from aggressively and energetically embracing the journey.

As Christians we are complete and whole, able to "press" forward on the path that is before us, especially as we chose to be sensitive to the direction of the Holy Spirit within us. Knowing that we are right where we should be flowing in the moment of the journey, pouring out ourselves in the things that God has before us—maturing in Christ-likeness along the way.

 

The Pencil In The Masters Hands

The Designer took the pencil aside; just before setting it on the journey called life ahead, and gently informed it that there are 5 things it needed to know:

1. You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in the Master Designer's hand.

2. You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you will need it to become a more mature and experienced pencil.

3. You will be able to correct mistakes you make, but don't find security in the fact that you will have the ability to correct mistakes.

4. You are to honor the most important part of you, which will always be what is inside—the Holy Spirit.

5. On every surface you are used you must leave your mark and no matter what the condition, you must continue in the mission.

The pencil understood and set out to remember all that had been spoken over and to it.

We know that as we are obedient to God and that which He has designed and chosen us to do, we will be able to carry out the mission as we allow ourselves to be held in God's hand. The key words here though are:

• Obedience
• Allow

Even as we walk the path of this journey called life, we have a choice to be obedient and allow God to use us to create a master piece with our abilities, skills, and talents we have naturally been blessed with or have acquired along the way.

In being obedient on the journey, we will find that at times there will be twist and turns that we did not see or are the result of choices we have made, but in the end will permit us to experience various things throughout life that will inevitably fine tune the message of our existence. 

We also need to keep in mind that mistakes that take place along the journey are okay and can be expected from time to time, as we are only human and tend to feel more in control when the pencil is in the tight grip of our hand. We should not set out to be careless on the journey, but to be more aware and sensitive to the leading of what is inside us—the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, we need to be mindful that on the journey that every surface we walk, we will leave our mark. No matter where we are in our journey or what the situation, we must continue to serve God—Master Designer—in everything that He is calling us to. With this understanding let us proceed in the journey with our eyes on the mission at hand and with a meaningful purpose in our heart with great gusto.