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Sometimes in church or Christian circles, people focus on the moment of conversion as if it’s a sort of end point. Yes, the moment of accepting the gift of love being offered to each of us by God is crucial — but when a person comes to Christ, their journey has just begun! What flows from the Good Father to His children is a waterfall of transformation and blessing. And as His children, we can expect to take on His nature and learn from His loving example.
- What does it mean to mature in God?
Some may call this process of growth discipleship. Others may think of it as God, the perfect Parent, modeling His power for His children and changing them from the inside out. Like children, we imitate God by becoming the mouth of God, the eyes of God, the ears of God, the hands of God, the feet of God, the heart of God, the thoughts of God, the compassion of God, the justice of God, the love of God. That’s how we mature. That’s how we grow up.
As we walk with God, God shows us how to truly live. Yet for those of us who like things laid out, let me offer three markers on the road to spiritual maturity. Three steps in the pathway of discipleship. As we imitate God, as we grow up to be like our heavenly Father, these are the markers we’re looking for. These are the things we should expect to see in our lives.
- We Awaken
We awaken to who we are and to whose we are. The more spiritually mature we get, the more we constantly remind ourselves of the truth of our new identity. We are not merely followers of beliefs about God, we have a new essence thanks to our new relationship with God. He is our perfect heavenly Father, and we are His beloved children.
That’s our identity!
Our understanding of our new identity changes everything for us. By nature, we are not lost spiritual pilgrims. We are not simply churchgoers. We are not trying to be “do-gooders.” We are not merely shined-up sinners. Who we are now at the core is this: We are born of God. He is our perfect Father. We have received Christ, and we believe in His name. We are new creatures whose DNA is being transformed by the One who made us. When we wake up to our true identities in Christ, we are no longer bound by the chains of our earthly burdens.
- We Accept
The second marker of spiritual maturity is that we accept the implications and possibilities of our new genetic makeup. It’s one thing to believe in Jesus, to acknowledge that God is our perfect heavenly Father and that we’re beloved children of God, and it’s another thing to truly live out those realities.
If we’re truly living in light of our new identity, then our lives will change, and we will lean toward that change in conjunction with the power of the Holy Spirit working inside of us. By grace, we will deliberately walk that new direction with our minds and hearts and wills and whole beings. We put off the old man and put on the new man, and we won’t tolerate the stink of sin in our lives anymore.
Far too often, even though we’re believers, we develop a comfortable tolerance of our old ways. But as dearly loved children of God, it’s up to us to shout, Enough! to the old ways of living. By faith, we can claim the light of Christ to guide our pathways.
- We must not settle for second-rate living anymore. We want to truly live, in Jesus’ name.
In time, we learn to do nothing apart from Christ (John 15:5). We abide in Him; we dwell in Him; we stay close to Him, because we learn that if we don’t, then our lives are a mess. We learn that God has given us unlimited resources, as Peter told us — everything we need for life and godliness. In Him, we are enriched in every way (1 Corinthians 1:4–5), and thanks to God, we are blessed abundantly, “so that in all things at all times, having all that [we][we] will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). We simply accept the bounty.
- We Adopt
The third marker of spiritual maturity is that we’re called to adopt the behavior and character of God. We model after Him. This means we pattern after Him, copy Him, emulate Him, shadow Him, echo Him, mirror Him. We model after Him and model after Him again. Through the close relationship we have with God through Christ, we constantly study how God works and moves, and then we study Him some more. The change doesn’t happen all at once. It happens bit by bit through the trueness of our walk with Him.
This progression actually takes pressure off of us, knowing our lives are transformed bit by bit. We don’t learn from our earthly fathers all at once, and our heavenly Father doesn’t expect us to figure everything out immediately either. In our spiritual walks, we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). The key word is grow. And growth is gradual.
If you are new in Christ, the adventure of your new life and identity waits before you. God promises to accompany you every step of the glorious path. And as you awaken, accept, and adopt His perfect and powerful ways, you will discover the majesty of His abundant goodness. Your journey has only begun!
Excerpted with permission from Seeing God as a Perfect Father by Louie Giglio, copyright Louie Giglio.
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Your Turn
Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes! — 2 Peter 3:18 MSG
Our walk in faith is just that… a walk! We so often want to speed along in growth, but it takes time and intention to learn the ways of the Holy Spirit and become more like Jesus. Our identity is in Him! Come share your thoughts with us. We want to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily
