Are We Spiritually Mature Enough to be a Comforting Christian?
Good Morning Friends,
I have several Christian friends who have suffered the loss of a love one and there is a specific characteristic of them all and that is I am sure born out of their having been forged in the fire, the great pain and grief and suffering of the experience. My friends turned to God instead of turning away. Yet some people do turn away. We rather suddenly lost some dear friends this week. One a teacher in Immokalee, Ada Campos and another a bell ringer in Naples, Ruth McNeal. Oh they were much more than I can write about here. Yet against the backdrop of those tragedies I wonder if we had been charged with being Christians if there would be enough evidence in our thoughts, words, actions, attitudes, reactions, desires and relationships to
convince anyone that we are?
That is what a friend of mine, Malcolm King reminded me of yesterday regarding the topic of whether or not we have been chosen.
Along those same lines today we explore this process of our growth in faith, of our thinking, acting and feeling in ways that demonstrate our love of God and our love of our neighbors. So here is a follow up question. Are We Spiritually
Mature Enough to be a Comforting Christian?
Scripture:
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
1 Corinthians 13:11 (NRSV)
14’For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents,* to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.”
Matthew 25:14-20 (NRSV)
13But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters* beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits* for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news,* so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15So then, brothers and sisters,* stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 (NRSV)
Message: It is time to grow up in love. Time to realize that responsibility comes with the gifts God gives us. It is time to realize that God expects us to do more than sit on a pew each week. His desire is for us to become useful vessels in a church without walls. We are to invest our gifts in kingdom service, realizing that those who risk nothing instead risk everything. Here God’s work and His Kingdom requires us to work as mature Christians to reach a lost world… to call for Justice and receive Peace in a world that is so broken. We are to invest in God making the most of our opportunities… using what God has given us for His glory. For those who have suffered great loss and indeed for all of us, our hope is in the Lord who died so that we can draw nearer to God and have the comfort of His healing presence in us. My sorrow is about the sorrow of others, so I pray that in their loneliness they would not be alone, in their affliction they would not be abandoned and in their suffering they would not be severed.
Pray that today’s scripture and devotional comforts broken hearts. Pray our hearts find in our Heavenly Father the lending of His child to all of us as a substitute and savior. Pray we find hope. Pray
that our thinking process in is line with God’s true, pure, just, lovely, virtuous and praise worthy plan. Pray that as our minds are renewed and our lives are transformed. Pray that the words we speak bring life and blessings to others, that we would meditate on them in our hearts and they would be found acceptable in the sight of the Lord. Pray that our works reveal a spiritual maturity rich in usefulness and fruitfulness. Pray that we like the good servants have the right attitude toward our responsibilities to our master. Pray that we are impartial towards the rich or poor. Pray that our love is revealed through our reactions to painful experiences. Pray that the desires of our hearts not be selfish but bring a more intimate understanding of His purpose for us. Pray that He would tabernacle in us making us heavenly minded, seeking first God’s Kingdom and righteousness. Pray that our relationships be influenced by godly people and a relationship with Jesus that leads us on the path of love and righteousness….spiritual maturity. Pray that we put aside the excuses, embrace the expectations and receive the promises. Pray we hear the words of praise from Jesus…”Well done.” Pray we realize we have been chosen for salvation but we need to grow up in the faith to recognize it.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 