Today’s Reading, Colossians 1-4
Focal Scripture: Colossians 1:10 “so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God,”
Do you have a desire to grow spiritually? Do you attend a church that has an expectation that you grow spiritually? If the answer is no to either one of those questions, it is time to do some soul searching in your life. If you don’t have a desire to grow spiritually it is for one of two reasons. First, you have never been taught that your spiritual life is not supposed to be stagnant. You are either moving towards the Lord or away from him in your walk. Second, you have never experienced the life changing power of salvation. You might know religion but you don’t know Jesus. Then you might attend church that majors on performance but not depth. Be weary of any church that neglects or downplays theology and deep study, regardless of the age group. Churches should focus on the Bible as their text not studies that focus on our own wants and desires.
In today’s reading Paul explains what true spiritual maturity looks like for a believer. A mature person walks worthy of the Lord. This means they are not living a fake lifestyle. What they say and how they act line up with the scriptures. Their lifestyle is honoring to the Lord. Spiritually mature believers bear fruit in their lives. This means they are kind and loving. Peaceful and full of joy. They care for others and desire to be Gospel people, in their families and their workplaces. Then the last sign of spiritual maturity is growing in the knowledge of God. This is probably the hardest for most people because it requires work. A spiritual person who knows Jesus deeply is a person who studies the scriptures and longs to know all of his character.
So what about you? Do you walk worthy, bear fruit, and grow spiritually? If you don’t or have no desire to do these things it is time to evaluate your salvation. This is why the scriptures tell us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We need to align ourselves with scripture not make scripture align with our wants and desires.
I challenge you today to avoid people who tell you to avoid growing in your faith. This can happen in a variety of ways. They will tell you that becoming more educated is a problem. They will even say the disciples never went for an education. Yes, they did not go off to school but they did devote their lives to the scripture and its teachings. They didn’t settle for the status quo. You will even run into churches that will avoid scripture and say theology has no place around children and teenagers. However, they will pour thousands of dollars into sports and talents to make sure their children have a chance.
The point of today is to make sure you know that spiritual maturity is not optional to be obedient to Jesus. Anything less than our best and complete devotion, does not meet the definition of spiritual maturity. Don’t settle for less in your faith walk and don’t allow others to push you down that path.
Walk differently, be a fruit bearer, and know deep things about the Lord.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading 1 Thessalonians 1-5
