November 2010 Baptist Light

Dear Friends,
I can remember back to when I joined scouting. I started as a Cub Scout, and enjoyed the den meetings, being part of a softball team, and wearing my blue scout uniform with the starched yellow bandana (I never did quite get the hand of getting it starched just right.) I even won my den’s box car derby race with a car my friend helped me to build (he actually did most of the work.) But for all my time in scouting, I only earned one badge and never moved up to the Boy Scouts, as I had hoped. To express it another way, I never matured as a scout.
One of the challenges and responsibilities of Christians is to grow spiritually. Unlike the scouts, we don’t earn badges. However, we do want to make progress. The apostle Paul defined spiritual growth in this way: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Wow! We’re to have the mind of Christ, which means spiritually mature Christians become more and more like Christ as they live out their faith each and every day. I know I have a long way to go in developing this mind of Christ. In fact, this is a life-long work in progress! Yet I hope I am making progress. I hope we are all making progress. How can we know? What does spiritual maturity look like in people?
In research done by George Gallup, Jr. and Timothy Jones (The Saints Among Us) it was found that spiritually mature people have nine qualities that set them apart from other people:
1. They are much more likely to have a daily time of private prayer.
2. They feel a genuine sense of the presence of God in their daily lives.
3. They report that their religious experiences are a source of strength, personal growth, and the healing of inner conflicts.
4. They tend to have a greater sense of inner peace, to feel more joyful and happy, and are less likely to feel depressed.
5. They are more humble, less likely to exhibit an inflated sense of self-importance.
6. They are far more often engaged in compassionate helping acts to others.
7. They are less racially prejudiced.
8. They are far more capable of forgiving people who wrong them and of being constructive, reconciling members of society.
9. They are more favorable to church involvement in political activity in order to right wrongs in society.
As I look at the above list, I find I want to become increasingly more spiritually mature. How does that happen? To be sure, there are many ways to deveop spiritual maturity. Herb Miller (Connecting with God) cites research that indicates seven experiences for Christians as primary sources of spiritual growth:
1. Worship – focusing on God and sensing God’s presence.
2. Music – feeling moved to give God greater attention.
3. Prayer – relating to God.
4. Fellowship – receiving God’s love through others.
5. Preaching – hearing God speak to me.
6. Service – giving God’s love to others through time and talent.
7. Stewardship – giving money to help with God’s work in the world.
Maturing in Christ is as an important goal as we can have as Christians. Are you maturing? Can it be seen through your participation in worship, prayer, praise, fellowship, study of God’s Word, service, and giving?

Peace,

Pastor Jim