I often hear myself comparing the behavior of Christians with that of “mature” Christians.
At this stage in my life I would call myself a mature Christian. I’ve been one for 11 years.
But mature compared to?
Other Christians.
I am diligent in maintaining my daily devotions. I’ve rid myself of all the obvious sins. I tithe and give over and above. I use my gifts to advance the Kingdom.
By those standards, when compared to other Christians, I am definitely more mature than most.
The problem is . . . that’s not the standard by which our lives are judged. Our standard is the life Jesus lived. The life God has called us to steward. Our level of obedience.
1 Peter 2:22 (NIV)
22 “He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”1 Corinthians 4:2 (NLT)
2 Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.1 Samuel 15:22 (NIV)
15 […] “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the LORD?
To obey is better than sacrifice, […]
If I tithe and give over and above, that’s great. It’s easy to trick yourself into thinking your spiritual life is rock solid because you’re being more “obedient” than 95% of other Christians.
But if God has called you to extravagant giving, then you’ve failed miserably. Your maturity is that of a deceptive child.
Stop fooling yourself into thinking you’re mature.
We’re not.
P.S. This post came across rather cynical. Completely unintentional. God’s been challenging me the past couple days and this is how the post came out.
The bottom line is: seek maturity in obedience to Christ, not in comparison to others.
6 replies on “Mature Christians Don’t Exist”
So true! It’s funny how we get caught up into thinking we are better than we actually are. I know I’m guilty of that often. Its funny you put out the verse regarding obedience being better than sacrifice. I remember a point at which I was sacrificing so much and thinking God wasn’t watching. He was watching, waiting for me to obey.
Yup, you nailed it.
So true! Thanks for the reminder.
I remember a few years ago our church defined maturity as “the process of applying – what you know of how Christ has called us to live – to your life daily.” or something along those lines.
I dig it! That’s another good definition of maturity. As long as we’re keeping our eyes on Jesus and not others.
Great post, Alex. Too often when we want to assess our progress in the race, we look around us to see how close we are to others instead of in front of us to see how close we are to the finish line. Love your blog, dude. :)
Love that you read my blog. :)