Growing Up

      The most fun part of walking around a pet store is the baby animals. Especially puppies. They are so cute and all they want to do is play, and it’s hard to resist taking one home. Unfortunately, more people want puppies than want dogs, and so many who are adopted end up abandoned. I often hear, “I wish they’d stay puppies forever, they are so cute.” Of course I’m sure the puppies’ mother, if she could speak, would never wish for a set of permanent puppies.

      I don’t think I’ve ever heard parents (of human babies) say, “I wish they could stay babies forever.” Certainly no one says this during the diaper years. If they do say it, most likely they are talking about someone else’s babies, not their own.

      Cyndi and I enjoy reminiscing through our old photo albums, remembering how much fun those kids were when they were little. One of the easiest ways to chase a teenager out of the room is to say, “You were so cute back then.” For some reason we never took pictures when they were pitching a fit, or screaming and running naked into the street, or overturning grocery carts. Our fondness for small children might be different if we kept some of those pictures.

      So it is good news that we all get bigger, even if some of us never really grow up. Eventually we all turn into adults, whether humans or puppies.

      That is, except for Christians. Too many Christians stay babies their entire lives, never learning a grown-up walk or grown-up talk, and God doesn’t think permanent baby Christians are cute. He wants us to grow up in Christ to become fully developed mature believers. Ephesians 4:14 says, “No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods.” (The Message)

      Why is that so important? For one thing, baby Christians are easy to fool and lead astray. Ephesians 4:14 goes on to say that they are “an easy mark for imposters.” They don’t know enough to know what not to believe. They are easy to fool, easy targets for false gospels and lies from the world.

      Another reason God wants us to grow is so that we can learn deeper things from Him – “to know the whole truth and tell it in love.”

      I remember how excited I was when our own kids first learned to walk (except that it meant they got lost much quicker) and how happy I was when whey learned to ride a bicycle (they could get lost really fast). Both of those skills allowed me to spend more quality time with my kids. Their increasing skills meant we could enjoy each other more. I could walk around with a toddler on my finger and have a great time exploring the world. Cyndi and I could ride our bicycles alongside the two young riders and make epic journeys across town to McDonald’s.

      I was also happy when their intellectual skills increased so that we could talk about something besides cartoons; we could talk about religion and right-vs-wrong and politics and responsibility. Of course, their growing ability to think and reason also meant prolonged arguments, but that was a fair trade for the privilege of discussing deeper things.

      When they started learning music I was happy that we had one more thing in common. I encouraged them to practice and work hard and now they both play very well. I was privileged to have the opportunity to play trombone beside both my son and my daughter in church orchestra and college jazz band.  We even went Christmas caroling together, the three trombonists! Playing music together meant we had one more thing in common, and our relationship could grow deeper in yet another category.

      God feels the same way about us. If we stay baby Christians, He is limited to changing our diapers and making goofy faces to make us smile. It is only when we grow up as believers that He can share with us on a deeper level, and walk with us, and take long epic bicycle journeys with us, and play music with us.

      Just like all human beings, it’s possible for Christians to get older and bigger without growing up. Maturing takes effort and practice. I don’t think any of us will grow up in Christ unless we are reading His Bible regularly, and I don’t think we’ll grow very fast unless we are involved in some sort of ongoing Bible study. For most of us that means being part of a group study so we’ll have someone to hold us accountable. We will also grow in God better if we are reading books about Him – both hard books as well as easy books. We should be consistently pursuing knowledge about God. As Paul said, “No prolonged infancies among us, please.”

“You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” … Augustine