Moving Toward Maturity

<p>A recent survey asked respondents to identify the age at which they believed they became adults. Those who considered themselves adults pointed to specific behaviors as evidence of their status. Having a budget and buying a house topped the list as being marks of &ldquo;adulting.&rdquo; Other adult activities ranged from cooking dinner every weeknight and scheduling one&rsquo;s own medical appointments, to the more humorous ability to choose to eat snacks for dinner or being excited to stay at home on a Saturday evening instead of going out.</p> <p>The Bible says we should press on toward spiritual maturity as well. Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, urging the people to &ldquo;become mature,&nbsp;attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ&rdquo; (Ephesians 4:13). While we&rsquo;re &ldquo;young&rdquo; in our faith, we&rsquo;re vulnerable to &ldquo;every wind of teaching&rdquo; (v. 14), which often results in division among us. Instead, as we mature in our understanding of the truth, we function as a unified body under &ldquo;him who is the head,&nbsp;that is, Christ&rdquo; (v. 15).</p> <p>God gave us His Spirit to help us grow into a full understanding of who He is (John 14:26), and He equips pastors and teachers to instruct and lead us toward maturity in our faith (Ephesians 4:11). Just as certain characteristics are evidence of physical maturity, our unity as His body is one evidence of our spiritual growth.</p>