I told Susan last night how “grown-up” John was looking. He’s only six months old, but he has changed so much. I don’t think John has set too many goals at his young age, but he is maturing rapidly. I know the secret… it is the life the Father has put in him.
So what is the secret to my maturity? Do I need to work harder? Do I need to strive with more diligence? Do I need to pray more? Do I need to set higher goals? I think the secret to maturity for Christians is the same as John’s… it is the Life the Father has put in us.
“Abide in Me and I will abide in you.” “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things…” “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”
The Spirit of the Living God, not my own effort, brings the maturity the Father desires. The mature in the Kingdom must remain child-like by depending on the One who aims to mold us into the image of Christ. As Jesus relied totally on His Father, so we are to rely on Him.
The Holy Spirit gives us our goal and reminds us where to keep our focus. “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith…” The Holy Spirit tells us there is a prize worth any cost. “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” The Holy Spirit encourages us to constantly talk to the Father. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” The Holy Spirit gives us energy and power to do the work we are called to do. “To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me.”
‘Thank you, Lord, for Life.’
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:13