A Call to Maturity

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A call to Maturity

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

Naracoorte UC - September Series 2016

This passage in Hebrews is one passage that is used to explain about spiritual maturity.  The writer of Hebrews uses an example of physical maturity as a way to explain what spiritual maturity is.  Some signs of growing up or adulting as I call it is that you become independent from those who raise you, you as responsible for getting your own food, paying your own bills and making sure you clean up after yourself.  I used to go food shopping with mum every week when I lived at home and I used to find it really enjoyable, when I moved here and into my own place the first few times I went shopping was such a novelty, I walked the isles hoping that people were noticing how good I was at adulting.  I hoped they could see the maturity of me having my own rewards card and a trolley full of groceries.  Now this excitement wore off pretty quickly, as much as it was exciting to walk all the aisles of shops and pick the foods I wanted for my house, when it came to the check out, I actually had to pay for it, and when I get home I actually have to cook it.  I found myself questioning why it used to be fun but now wasn’t.  Probably because before, I just had the basic shopping experience, stuff went in the trolley, and then it was home.  But now it was my responsibility in the whole experience.

There are many young adults aged about 18-25 around that seem to struggle with the whole adulting concept, I don’t know if it’s a new thing, but many of my peers are often asking, is adulting really this hard? Why didn’t anyone tell me how to do.. and whatever, sort out car insurance when your cars been reversed into, budget better, organise health insurance or ambo cover, understand work contracts so they don’t get ripped off or used, separating lights and darks in their washing so that clothes last longer, I even wonder how to hold an umbrella in strong winds so it doesn’t invert. These young adults are asking where the classes were that were meant to teach them how to adult better and do these things.

Our passage shows us the obvious example of physical maturity. Babies start with milk and eventually have solids, but even when babies’ first move to solids, they aren’t sitting down to a steak, they have mushed veggies and custard spoon fed to them.  It is a few years before they are even using cutlery for themselves and even longer before they prepare their own food.

Our passage starts by saying ‘you no longer try to understand’ I think this implies that the people didn’t think they needed to know anything else, they had assumed that they already knew what they needed to know. It wasn’t just a case of mental laziness, but rather a case of spiritual resistance.  They were unwilling to work out the deeper implications of the gospel in their lives and teaching others of these truths but rather they were only sticking with the foundations of faith and being taught over and over as basics of faith.  They were only having infants milk when in fact they could eat the more solid stuff. 

I wonder why the people did this? Why do we do this? Is it because we lack confidence in what we know? Do we not think it’s our responsibility to teach others or do we genuinely not know that there is more to learn?

Last year I was at the National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Perth and in our working small groups we had a discussion about the role of elders in the church.  The Uniting Church has a set of regulations and rules around what elders are, but being the diverse church the Uniting church is, in many different contexts it meant different things, for some, elders are those on church council, for others they are retired ministers or leaders in the church and for others again they are appointed people separate to the church council who are faithful members of the church.  The discussion that happened in my group was around what skills or characteristics did we think elders needed to have.  The most common answer seemed to be that they needed spiritual maturity.  Some followed that on by saying that meant that only those who were of retirement age should be considered as an elder because anyone else didn’t have the experience or maturity to take on that role. Many of the young adults in this discussion grumbled at this definition because it meant that ourselves, as well as many of our friends in leadership roles were being discounted as spiritually immature due to age.  The thing that was frustrating about this is that many of us are providing teaching, nurturing others in faith through mentoring and providing pastoral care for congregations.

Spiritual maturity is not dependent on physical maturity. I think spiritual maturity is like what Timothy calls us to do.  He says; “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity”.  Spiritual maturity goes beyond barriers of age, social class, skills or family.  Spiritual maturity is developed when we step out from the safety of the basic faith and from receiving everything we need to know in teaching and instruction and independently seek to grow, learn and do more in the way of Christ. 

Verse 14 says that the mature are the ones who have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil, those who are constantly pursued righteousness and seek to know more.  1 Timothy 4 tells us to train ourselves to be godly, because godliness holds true for the present and the future.  So what does being spiritual maturity look like? How do we get spiritually mature?

In my time at theological college and working with young people I have met, lead and seen many people who are young in age but mature spiritually.  I know young people who have expressed a spiritual maturity by being examples of faith to their parents and siblings by how they share their faith, by encouraging the reading of biblical stories as a family around the dinner table and organising opportunities for prayer as a family.  I have seen spiritual maturity in young people who have been faced with difficult circumstances and in the midst of it all surround themselves with scripture and Christian community and repeatedly say, I know God is faithful and will guide me through.  I have met with young people who are so invested in the word of God they ask for direction on how to adequately reflect on the 3 different devotional books they are reading at one time.  I see spiritual maturity in many of the youth here that I meet with regularly who ask me about how I’m hearing from God and what im learning and discovering before I get a chance to ask them, in the young people here who constantly challenge me in living out faith through the questions and challenges I am asked or faced with. 

Spiritual maturity is about diligently and constantly drawing closer to God. It’s about engaging in worship both in community and in the everyday of your life, it’s about digging deeper into the bible, seeking to understand more rather than sticking to the bits you know, and that have always brought you comfort.  It’s about committing to prayer and fasting because you know it will grow your faith.  It’s about listening to the voice of God and stepping out of your comfort zone.  Spiritual maturity is about not expecting the leader or pastor to know everything but about exploring or asking questions and discovering together even in among your doubt.  Spiritual maturity is about realising that you have something to share about faith and being willing to share that with someone else.  Spiritual maturity is about finding opportunities to be an example in faith, in life, in conduct and in purity. What can you teach me? And what can I teach you through how we live out our faith.  Spiritual maturity is not revealed by theological study, spiritual mature comes from a personal and ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ.  For that relationship you don’t have to wait until you are an adult.  You can enter into that relationship as a child or teenager. You can enter into that relationship now, regardless of the questions, doubts or uncertainly you might have.  Spiritual maturity is about starting with the babies milk and working towards the solid stuff.

In verse 11-12 of Chapter 6 it says “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. ¹² We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

So we need to take encouragement in that each one of us are being called to press on, to continue to grow and learn. You don’t reach spiritual maturity, it is an ongoing process, work diligently and intentionally to make steps towards Jesus in all you do.  Today that might be a first step of faith, or it might be a commitment to this week live out your faith by teaching ours something you know in faith.  It might mean that this week as we finish up the September series in Hebrews you look to finding a book of the bible that is outside of your comfort zone to devote your study and time too exploring.  Grow and learn and develop in faith and don’t just be settled with eating the same stuff.