I am continually amazed at how fast my 4th child is growing. One day he is a motionless sleeping ball of soft, squishy flesh with nothing more than a few squeaks and squeals coming from his drooling mouth. The next day he is opening his eyes, moving his limbs, clenching onto things and his “girgling” sounds are even turning into real giggles. If you’ve ever been around children, you know what I am talking about.
In a similar way, the Bible tells us we should be growing and progressing in our spiritual lives as well. The Apostle Paul actually addresses this very subject of spiritual maturity in one of his letters to the Corinthian Church by expressing his disappointment in the apparent lack of progression in their faith. He calls them “worldly” and mere “infants in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1), unable to address them as mature believers. Ouch.
What Paul is reminding them of is the transforming power that lies within the truth of the Gospel. In other words, when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, it is as if we are signing off on a life-long agreement with God, “Here you go God, here is full and total access to my heart and soul…have at it!” We are giving God the green light to take us from the “infant” phase of our spiritual life to a more mature one. We offer ourselves up as big blobs of clay and God the Potter takes His wheel, molding us to His image and ultimately revealing Himself in and through our lives. What a glorious thing!
So why then do we continue to struggle with sin? Why are there so many of us remaining as “infants,” stagnant in our faith? The answer lies in Romans 12:2, which says:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Paul is basically presenting spiritual growth as a choice among believers. He is saying: you can either choose to conform to the patterns of this world or you can choose to be transformed by the renewing of your minds.
All to often, we find it hard to resist conforming to the patterns of this world, such as finding our identity in things like wealth, beauty, fame, prestige and our worldly achievements. But we are called to be transformed. How? By the renewing of our minds. As Christians, we can renew our minds by:
- Turning away from every known sin in our lives and expressing our desire to live fully for God
- Reading God’s Word regularly
- Incorporating times of worship and prayer into our daily lifestyle
- Plugging into a faith community and investing in friendships there
- Realizing that transformation comes not by our own efforts or strength but by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit
If you commit to these things, you can be certain that God’s Truth will wash over your mind like a waterfall, changing you from the inside out. You will be able to look back over weeks, months and years and see evidence of tangible change.
I pray that the precious children growing up rapidly all around us will serve as a reminder that we too should be “growing up” in our faith. To conform or to be transformed. That really is the question.
Which will you choose?