Characteristics Of People Making Progress

by John Stallings


But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . . .
2 Peter 3:18

Have you ever seen the birth of a calf or a foal?

It usually doesn’t happen in a house or hospital. Painkillers, doctors, nurses, and delivery tables aren’t part of the process. It’s a raw, wild event, and no one is there to help the little animal make its entrance into the world.

When I’ve seen this process, the little creatures are practically born on their feet, and they don’t have to wait a year to learn to walk. It takes place within minutes, and then no one teaches the animal where to go. It knows instinctively where to go to get its first meal. No one tells it where the meal is located. The mother simply stands there calmly waiting for the little one to find its food.

No human being is born knowing that much within minutes of its birth. The baby may someday be an astronaut or brain surgeon, but, at the moment of birth, it knows nothing. Though the baby will someday be a thinking person with possibly a genius IQ, in infancy it must be taught everything, because it’s not equipped with instincts like animals. Yet the baby has something special the animal doesn’t have, and that’s a little mind.

Animals can’t appreciate a fine painting or a Beethoven concerto. Dogs may howl in response to the music, but they don’t understand what they’re hearing. Animals can’t read, though they’ve tried to get some of the primates to do so. Animals can’t acquire scientific knowledge, make decisions, render judgments, and display discipline. They can’t gain access to God, enjoy an actual relationship with Him, and be enlightened by His Spirit. That’s reserved for you and me.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH ISN’T AUTOMATIC.

Human beings grow and develop physically, and it’s hoped they will grow spiritually and emotionally, but it’s not automatic. Many people never grow beyond a certain point emotionally and spiritually, yet this development is the only way to have a full, happy, and productive life.

The writer of Hebrews 5:12-13 says, You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. And a person who is living on milk isn’t far along in the Christian life and doesn’t know much about doing what is right.

“Growing in grace” sounds like an oxymoron. How can you grow in something you’ve been given? It sounds like other oxymorons; i.e., act naturally, definite maybe, unbiased opinion, military intelligence—(oops!) or temporary tax cut.

God intends for us to grow in grace; it’s a command in 2 Peter 3:18, when Peter tells us to Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Did you notice these were Peter’s last words to us? The last words a man speaks are usually considered important. When William Wallace of Braveheart fame, the thirteenth century Scottish patriot died, his final word was “freedom.” Peter was crucified upside down shortly after writing these words and his dying wish was to see Christians growing.

In fact, it’s easy to understand why Peter might have this concern. He had let the Lord down and had a cussing fit, denying he ever knew Jesus. Peter knew what the consequences of immaturity were and was eager that others be spared the pain it brought him.

We aren’t meant to remain spiritual babies (Ephesians 4:14). I have been privileged to raise three beautiful girls from babyhood to adults, and as you know, babies are all incredibly cute. A baby who crawls and drools is cute, but an eighteen year old who crawls and drools is a different story. Just as parents live to see their child grow up, God also wants to see His children grow up.

Christian maturity is of utmost importance because it’s “proof of life.” A painting or photograph doesn’t grow. The stake that holds a young sapling doesn’t grow, but the sapling is expected to grow. Lack of growth in the Christian life warns of false profession, backsliding, and hypocrisy.

HERE ARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE MAKING PROGRESS.

Spiritually- and emotionally-mature people can love and respect others without having to change them or becoming critical and judgmental. They don’t expect anyone to be perfect in meeting their needs whether it is their spouse, boss, friend, or parent. They love and respect people for who they are – not what they can give them or how they behave. They take responsibility for their own thoughts, decisions, opinions, goals, and actions, regardless of the approval or disapproval of others.

When stressed, they don’t fall into a victim mentality or blame others. They can state their own beliefs and values to those who don’t agree with them without being adversarial. They can accurately assess their strengths and weaknesses and have no problem discussing them with others. Deeply in tune with their own feelings, they can move into the emotional worlds of others, meeting them at the place of their feelings, needs, and concerns. They are convinced that they are absolutely and unconditionally loved by God and consequently have nothing to prove. They can have equal relationships with others as opposed to “one-up-one-down” relationships.

THERE’S A DIFFERENCE IN GROWING UP AND GETTING OLDER.

We may be tempted to think because we’ve been around a long time this gives us automatic entitlement to maturity. Not necessarily! You can have a tree you think looks mature in your garden, but when the winds come, you discover its roots are not very deep at all, and it blows down. It will be in the fires of testing that our maturity, or lack of it, will be revealed.

A school teacher was hoping to be promoted to the job of vice principal, but when she was passed over for the post she complained that she had the most seniority and experience. “I’ve been teaching for 20 years,” she told the school board chairman. With gentleness and wisdom he replied, “You haven’t been teaching 20 years; you’ve taught one year 20 times.”

One sign of spiritual maturity is the ability to properly process emotions. Many who should be mature are constantly ruled by anger, sadness, or hurt. They whine, complain, distance themselves, blame others, and use sarcasm like children when they don’t get their way. They are highly defensive to criticism or differences of opinion, and they expect to be taken care of while using other people as objects.

Emotional volatility is a dead giveaway to immaturity. This is evidenced by temper tantrums, explosive behavior, low frustration tolerance, over-sensitivity, unreasonable jealousy, inability to forgive, and mood swings. Not to be ruled by emotions doesn’t mean we don’t have them, but as we mature, we learn how, when, and where to express them and the proper degree of expression.

Mature people can deal constructively with reality, the need for change, and find more satisfaction in giving than receiving. Mature people have learned to relate well to others and enjoy them and can have satisfying relationships. An outgoing personality is another dead giveaway to maturity. Maturity is practically a prerequisite for a happy, fulfilling life.

Spiritually- and emotionally-mature people know the best way to deal with a problem is to deal head on. A person’s level of maturity can be related to the degree to which they face their problems or avoid them. Maturity confronts – immaturity avoids. A mature person’s sense of security permits him to consider the needs of others while immaturity thinks mainly of self.

An immature person curses the rain, but the mature person views life as a learning experience, and when things don’t go well; he looks for the soft spot in the problem that will allow him to succeed anyway. When frustrated, the immature person looks for someone to blame, while the mature person looks for solutions. Immature people attack people, while mature people attack problems. A mature person’s approach to life is to believe he can do all God asks of him and will succeed if he is consistent.

JESUS IS OUR MATURITY ROLE MODEL.

Luke 2:52 says, And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Let’s look at Jesus’ example as he looks at Jerusalem and laments in Matthew 23:37.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
Notice the maturity in the way Jesus handled this. Would you or I have done this? Or would we have just zapped them because they weren’t learning and had gone so wrong? If it were our creation, how would we have reacted? Jesus showed some feelings here, but He still reacted in a measured and restrained way. Jesus had divine power, and He could have gathered the people up and forced them to see it His way, but He didn’t. He is satisfied to let mankind come to its own decisions. Jesus has emotions here, but has them under control.

In Luke 22:43-44 we read about another time when Jesus was under deep stress. He went off and prayed.

Then an angel from heaven appeared unto Him strengthening Him. And being in agony, he prayed the more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
You see, it’s okay to feel deeply about things like Christ did. That’s a natural response – to hurt and have feelings, but the feelings didn’t divert Him from His mission to die for mankind on the cross.

LET’S LOOK AT PAUL’S VISION OF CHRISTIAN MATURITY.

In 1 Corinthians 13:11 Paul says,

When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things.

Paul is telling us there’s a time to grow up.

Verse 12 - For now we see through a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.Verse 13 - And now abideth faith, hope, and love these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Paul is telling us how important it is for us to grow and mature in God so that we might be love motivated. A child is a little “black hole” of selfishness. A child doesn’t yet know what’s out there in the big world and thinks everything revolves around him. Gradually and incrementally the child’s world opens up. The very nature of maturity is moving outside of self into the larger world of others. Paul is using this analogy with the Corinthians saying you can’t always be a child. What a child must do physically, we must do spiritually.

When you look at Paul’s life, he’s a good example of growing in grace. Watch the progression of his growth. As he ages and grows, he starts to talk about his sense of unworthiness. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:9 and calls himself the “least of all the apostles.” Later he writes in Ephesians 3:8 calling himself “the least of all God’s people.” At the end of his life he writes in 1Timothy 1:15 that he is “the worst of sinners.” The closer Paul gets to God, the smaller he is in his own sight.

LET’S LOOK AT PETER’S VISION OF MATURITY.
2 Peter 1:5-8

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness; to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love; for if these are yours and abound, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 9 - For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed for his old sins.

Verses 10 and 11- Therefore brethren, be ever more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.

For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So Peter says here, I want you to grow and develop in these areas. Now all this seems like a lot of work, and it is, but God isn’t rushing us. Spiritual maturity doesn’t come easily, and it doesn’t come overnight. You wonder if it’s worth it. It depends on what you want out of life and where you’re headed in life. Some people shy away from going deeper with God out of fear it will be too much sacrifice and too hard on the flesh. Their attitude is “There Be Dragons.” But as the scriptures tell us, the benefits more than compensate for the effort experienced.

IN ROMAN 12, THERE ARE 20 MARKS OF THE MATURING CHRISTIAN.

1. YOUR MIND IS BECOMING RENEWED SO YOU CAN EMPATHIZE WITH OTHERS. (Verse 1)

2. YOU ARE WILLING TO SEE THE BODY OF CHRIST GROW AND RECOGNIZE ALL HAVE A PLACE. (Verses 4-7)

3. YOU MORE AND MORE HATE EVIL AND CLING TO THAT WHICH IS GOOD. (Verse 9)

4. RELATIONSHIPS ARE STARTING TO MEAN MORE TO YOU THAN THINGS. (Verse 10)

5. YOU’RE BECOMING MORE PATIENT AND LESS PANICKY. (Verse 12)

6. YOU ARE HELPING OTHERS MORE. (Verse 13)

7. YOU’RE MORE ABLE TO BLESS THEM THAT CURSE YOU. (Verse 14)

8. YOUR TONGUE IS UNDER CONTROL. (JAMES 3:1-2)

9. YOU ARE STARTING TO FEEL HOW OTHERS FEEL – NOT THE WAY THEY FEEL, BUT HOW THEY FEEL. (Verses 14-15)

10. YOU ARE WILLING TO ASSOCIATE WITH LOWLY PEOPLE. (Verse 16)

11. YOU AREN’T CONCEITED ANYMORE. (Verse 16)

12. YOU HAVE A “NO-PAY-BACK” MENTALITY. (Verse 17)

13. HARMONY BECOMES THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN YOUR LIFE. (Verse 16)

14. MORE AND MORE YOU HATE CONFUSION. (Verses 18-19)

15. YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND OTHERS’ DIFFERENCES; YOU STOP SAYING, “WHY CAN’T THEY BE MORE LIKE ME?” (Verse 18)

16. YOU ARE EXTENDING YOURSELF MORE – SHARING YOURSELF MORE. (Verse 1)

17. YOU’RE EXAMINING YOURSELF MORE. (Verse 3)

18. YOU’RE EDUCATING YOURSELF MORE. (Verse 3)

19. YOU’RE SEEING YOUR GIFT, NOT AS CHRISTMAS GIFTS ALL WRAPPED UP, BUT A GIFT FOR YOU TO HELP OTHERS. (Verses 5-8)

20. YOU’RE ENJOYING LIFE MORE. (Galatians 5:22 … Fruit of the Spirit is JOY)

SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS NOT ALL OUR HARD WORK.

I’ve had the occasion when flying in past years to be able to go to the front of the airplane and look in the cockpit where the pilots were. (I don’t think that’s allowed these days.) I had pictured the pilot with both hands on the wheel looking intensely into the windshield. I was shocked to see the pilots relaxing, talking, hands off the controls, not even looking where the plane was going. The pilot took off and landed the plane, but other than that, he really didn’t do much. Of course I was always glad the pilots were there. Most of the time, the pilot isn’t flying the plane hands-on; the automatic pilot takes over that job.

Though we’ve said that growth isn’t automatic, this process is similar to what God does in us when he reprograms our minds and transforms the way we think. We used to do things our way, but as God renews us, we start doing things in ways that please Him. A sinner doesn’t have to wear a note on his sleeve reminding him to curse and tell off-color jokes; he just does it naturally. It’s the same way with the Christian. Once His mind and nature is changed, he doesn’t have to “try to do the right thing.” He does the right thing automatically as he walks with God. The pilot can always override the automatic pilot and take the plane into his own hands. Likewise, we must choose daily if we’ll yield ourselves to God and let Him “do the driving.” That’s what Romans 12:1-2 is all about.

I found a television show I really liked once, and I found myself organizing my week around seeing it. I would race home to be sure not to miss the show, and often I’d tape it so I could watch it later if I couldn’t be there when it aired. One day it dawned on me that I was being programmed, and my life was being arranged by people who didn’t exist in a plot that really wasn’t that good and that didn’t honor God. I was spending more time thinking about the fictional people on that stupid show than I was my own life. The Holy Spirit so convicted me that, though I still enjoy watching some television, I’ve never allowed myself to get that caught up again.

How do we transform our minds? Simple! We read and study God’s word. Remember Peter said to grow in grace and in THE KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If we really want to grow in God, we must get to know The Book and live according to it. The Bible speaks to every situation you and I will ever face. As we get to know Jesus and His word better, His divine Holy Spirit gives us all we’ll need to live a holy life and grow in Him.

Let me reiterate: Growing spiritually isn’t automatic. You can’t drift into being a stronger Christian; it takes work. It won’t just happen by itself, and much of your success will depend on how much you love Jesus. God was so pleased with His Son Jesus; His desire is to “bring many sons to glory.” It’s His plan to grow you and me until we think, act, and feel just like He does.

If a person has studied classical music for 30 years yet never sits down and plays the masters’ compositions but only plays Chopsticks, wouldn’t that be odd? Pro musicians associate with other pros. They show they are pros by their love for music and the time they put into it. They work on their craft constantly and spend hours practicing, trying to improve. That’s love! That’s devotion!


CAN WE, AS DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST, DO LESS?


ASK YOURSELF WHAT STEPS YOU NEED TO TAKE TODAY TO GROW IN GOD.

Blessings,


John