Am I growing?
Am I growing?

Am I growing?

Spiritual maturity is an ever-increasing conformity to the ways of Jesus- thinking, loving, and living as He did.

“How do I know if I’m growing?” As I looked into my friend’s eyes, I could see the desperation in his question. It echoed with my own. For followers of Jesus, we know that we have been invited into a journey of transformation. Scripture gives us beautiful promises of being made into a new creation and finding freedom from the sin that so easily entangles.  At the same time, we know the struggle of our sin and brokenness. We know that left to ourselves, we fail again and again. In the midst of it all, how do we know if we are growing? 

For the last twenty years, it’s been my joy to walk with people on this journey of faith and as I have I’ve noticed three fronts that I think are really the waymarkers of transformation and growth in the spiritual life. In many ways, these are the “fronts” on which the battle to shape affections are formed. They can become a helpful roadmap in becoming more intentional in our own transformation and can be a helpful guide in our own journey. But before we explore those a couple of definitions are key. 

First, we must define the term spiritual ”maturity.” Ask people what they think spiritual maturity looks like and you’ll almost get as many answers. Some quantify spiritual maturity in terms of the amount of scriptures someone can recite, others in terms of acts of social justice, still others based on the ability to give apologetic defenses. While all of these may be expressions of spiritual maturity, they’re not the core. Spiritual maturity is an ever increasing conformity to the ways of Jesus- thinking, loving, and living as He did. It’s why the authors of Scripture speak to the fact that we were “predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s son.” The destination is that we will become more like Jesus. At the same time, it’s a journey and it’s why we are never spiritually “mature” but rather spiritual “maturing” this side of heaven. A second issue is how do we understand the transformative process? It’s here that we must define how we understand that transformative process taking place. 

Secondly, how do we change and what’s the nature of that transformation? Obviously, this is a HUGE question and one that the church has wrestled with for years. Yet I’m convinced it is one of the most foundational questions for how we structure and understand ministry. What we believe about how we guide people on that journey shapes everything about the tools we use on that journey. Perhaps the most instructive verse is Hebrews 10:14, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (ESV). It reminds us that transformation is an act of grace. It begins and ends in the sacrificial work of Jesus and His work to connect his people in His resurrection power. Did you notice the order? We have been perfected…and are those who “are” being sanctified. For those transformed by the resurrection of Christ, spiritual maturity isn’t the manufacturing of what’s not there but the unpacking of who we’ve already become. In other words, growth isn’t about herculean efforts of morality and virtue, but allowing the love and grace of Jesus to follow through our lives. 

For those transformed by the resurrection of Christ, spiritual maturity isn’t the manufacturing of what’s not there but the unpacking of who we’ve already become.

Particularly, those are lived out on three fronts. What I would consider to be the three fronts of spiritual maturity. Namely how we:

  • Look Up: A maturing view of God as revealed in Scripture and how he engages us, others, and our world. 
  • Own Up:  A maturing willingness to own both our belatedness and brokenness. Honoring our strengths and weaknesses and owning the ways that our sinful actions harm ourselves and others. 
  • Link Up: A maturing ability to hold and sustain healthy relationships with others. Our ability to give and receive love in community. It’s here that we imitate the relationality of the Holy Trinity and experience the joy of life as God designed. 

Over the next several weeks, I’ll begin to unpack each of these. As we begin though, where do you sense Jesus is inviting you? Is there one of these three, that you sense Jesus drawing you into in the next step of discipleship? 

As I sat with my friend, I realized the fact that he was even asking the question was half the battle. His heart cry reflected the work of the one who had claimed him as His own. As we seek to grow, we have the ever-increasing confidence that He who began this work in us will be faithful to complete it. Today, may you hear that invitation, and may we experience HIS joy as He works within us.