Do We Have Spiritual Maturity?
Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday, at the Forum Club, I was engaged with groups of students from Immokalee High School and Naples High School to hear Pulitzer Prize winning author Clarence Page. The students were given the opportunity to ask questions about the future of journalism and the prospect for a less polarized political system. Mr. Page works for the Chicago Tribune and has covered every Presidential race from Goldwater and Lyndon B. Johnson, beginning in High School, to the current crop of candidates. And as I thought about Mr. Page’s comments related to the outcome of the Iowa Caucus and the role of the Evangelical vote, I began to wonder which way the wind is really blowing in this nation and whether if the candidates had been charged with being Christians if there would really be enough evidence in their thoughts, words, actions, attitudes, reactions, desires and relationships to
convince anyone that they are. Mr. Page referenced the book Elmer Gantry to link the issue to the maturation of our political system as it engages the next generation. So
today I am exploring 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 in the context of community. Today I put forth the question: Do We Have Spiritual Maturity?
Scripture: When 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)
‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then 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.”
Mathew 25:14-20 (NRSV)
When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: ‘A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.’ As he said this, he called out, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’
Luke 8:4-8 (NRSV)
Message: The parable in today’s scripture depicts four types of hearers and levels of dignity in our communications. There are those that do not care what is being said. There are those that are superficial hearers that only fain excitement. There are carnal hearers who understand but are still unwilling to change and then there are sincere hearers likened to good soil…those with a noble heart who honestly seek to learn and know the truth and be changed by it. The message is this, if one listens one can see how and why hurt people hurt people and why healed people can be a powerful force in healing others. Here we might just learn that healed people do not have an image to protect. Typically their sin record is public and their pride has been set aside. Here we discover that protecting our image is part of the problem for it causes conflict. Here the seed is the Word of God sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating and dividing the attitudes of the heart. Friends when we share the truth people will respond but not all will be changed in a way so that they can in turn change others.
Last night I was watching a bit of the 1960’s film Elmer Gantry which is about a con man and a female evangelist selling religion. It was banned in Boston but never the less was nominated for five Academy Awards and won three including best actor for Burt Lancaster, best supporting actor for Shirley Jones and Best Adapted Screenplay. Andre Previn did the music which I really liked. But what kept rattling around in my head was not the Pentecostal approach or its negative portrayal of religion but that the author of the book on which the film was made died from an alcohol induced heart attack. Kind of sad that Sinclair Lewis, the writer of the book Elmer Gantry did not convey in his personal life the wisdom that one might expect from such a gifted writer. Too bad he did not grow up in love. Interestingly the movie ends with today’s passage from Corinthians. And maybe we too fall short and like Elmer Gantry are all hypocrites to some degree, like our politicians. But the way I see it, Sinclair Lewis’ portrayal of religion misses something important for it did not keep him from killing himself. And that is cause for alarm for his view has become so mainstream. Friends, it is 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. We are to invest our gifts in kingdom service, realizing that those who risk nothing instead risk everything. Those that do not mature in the faith fall short. Make no mistake about it, 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. Our lives need to reflect it as well as our words. We are to invest in God making the most of our opportunities… using what God has given us for His glory. If not we too are poisoning ourselves as Sinclair Lewis did. I wonder how many people heard his cry for help. Friends, Christ calls us to listen with our hearts to the message. He calls us to listen to what He is saying, not just what we want to hear. He calls us to a deeper understanding.
Pray we not miss out on the joy of healing others. Pray we realize that the good soil reinvests in the next crop. Pray we grow in our listening. Pray we hear and obey. Pray that in our speaking we understand that our words are to lead others. Pray we realize it is time to listen not just for our own satisfaction but as a patient witness that God cares. Pray that our politicians give up their pride.
Pray that our thinking process in is line with God’s true, pure, just, lovely, virtuous and praiseworthy 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 our relationships be influenced by godly people and a relationship with Jesus that leads us on the path of love and righteousness….spiritual maturity.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 