Five Signs of Spiritual Maturity, Part One
Sports writers are not the top athletes who can carry a ball down a field or court and score. Their job is to observe and report. As I write about spiritual maturity, make no mistake that I am not reporting as an expert who has mastered these qualities. In fact, these qualities are ones the Lord is working on in me, so they loom large in my heart and mind as I deeply long to grow. These words from “It Is Well with My Soul” express it best: “That Christ has regarded my helpless estate.” I am helpless to change myself or to mature and grow in Him, but I have every confidence He can change me. His blood can change who I am. With that in mind, let’s prayerfully look at these areas that mark the life of a spiritually mature Christian.
When you are spiritually mature, you will find your life marked by these traits:
1. You pray more for you to be changed than for others to change. Look at the air time you give to asking God to change others versus your pleas for Him to change you. I have often prayed simply, “Lord, I don’t want to be this way. Please change me.” As noted, I am a work in progress.
2. You forgive more quickly. You often do not even need to forgive because you see the person who hurts you as one of God’s children who is struggling just as you are. You see that whatever supposed offense occurred is not between them and you, but between them and God. Your heart goes out to them as you see the powers and principalities tossing them about. You can genuinely pray for them and want them to be blessed spiritually and in every way.
3. An extension of #2 is that you are less affected by anything man says; instead, you tune your life to please an audience of One. You not only are not moved by the criticisms of man, but more importantly, you grow more impervious to their praises. Of course, you listen to your friends and neighbors, but your ears are so attuned to the voice of the Father that the background noise and petty static of life falls away as the Father leads, guides, and directs you through each day. Dwelling on the criticism or lack of understanding of man used to be something I gave too much thought and energy to. Trying to meet their expectations distracted my focus from what the Lord had assigned me to do. He is working on me to patiently listen, to take wise counsel from some of the Godly women in my life, and to love those who do not grasp my mission or the unique path the Lord has for me. One thing He has taught me in the last year is the phrase, “It doesn’t matter.” He has urged me to hold up any complaint or issue against the backdrop of eternity, the Cross, and His plan for humanity. When I have taken my whining to Him, He has shown me how petty it is of me to waste my time on minor blips when He has so clearly directed my path. I have prayed that I will see those who are hurtful as His children that He loves with all His heart. I have asked Him to help me see them as He sees them and love them because he loves them so much. He is really doing an active work in my heart in this area, and I have great hope that He will finish this work he has begun.
Even more dangerous to my peace and communication with Him has been when I have listened to praise for myself. I am trying to be intentional about tossing the praise away as quickly as I hear it, not in a rude way but in a firm way. After a gracious response to praise, dwelling more than a second on remarks about how good you are or how gifted or really any compliment can only open the door to pride and self-dependence—lethal to allowing the Holy Spirit be your all in all. Toss all the credit, first of all, to God who is the giver of all good gifts (they are not your own.) Secondly, give credit to the Holy Spirit who has prompted and guided you into bearing any fruit; it is His fruit and it is Him working through you. Finally, humbly remember your indebtedness to Jesus who is the only reason you have this relationship with God in the first place.
4. You know you have no wisdom but are confident in the Wisdom-giver. Especially recently, we all seem to be wise in our own eyes. More than ever, Christians are devoting more time to the latest information than to the eternal Word and to the Holy Spirit. Every decade you walk with Him, you see that you are not as wise as you once thought. You see people as He sees them, and you begin to get a glimpse of how He sees you. At first you are appalled at how ignorant you have been. It may be a gut-punch when you first realize how you cannot count on your own wisdom and how useless your opinions and experience are. That is followed by the thrilling realization that you don’t need knowledge and wisdom because you can fall back on His, and His is awesome! What a relief! If your confidence is in the Lord, you have a level of rest and security you never had with your own wisdom. I pray that I will grow in that to the point that I stop feeling I need to know the answers. I just need to trust Him.
5. You see the bigger picture. You see your life in the context of what God wants. He has a plan for the Church and this world. Where within that plan does His plan for you fit? Maturity is being willing to say to the Lord, “Where can I bring you the greatest glory? Not my will but yours, Lord. Not my way, but yours,” and mean it. I pray to develop this eternal outlook.
Spiritual maturity is a big topic and covers so much in our Christian life. Next week we will cover five more signs of spiritual maturity.