RIPENED FRUIT

The Bible has a lot to tell us about "spiritual maturity", such as this exhortation from the book of Hebrews (Heb 5:11-6:3). We all start out on our spiritual journey at the same point, that is our birth in the spirit. (John 3:3-8). This can be compared to our natural physical birth from our mother's womb, or to the birth of an apple from the blossom early in the spring. In the case of a human baby, they are completely helpless at the start and need the loving care of their mother, and the acceptance and help of the rest of the family. Then as they progress on their physical journey, they are helped by school teachers, church leaders etc. as well as many various friends that make up their learning environment in an ever increasing world in which they have to learn to adapt. The little apple, on the other hand, only has to be exposed to the natural elements of sun and rain etc. while being nourished by the sap it receives from the apple tree it is attached to. (John 15:5). Over the summer months this little apple just naturally progresses through the various stages of maturity, from a little half grown green apple in June, to a beautiful tasty red apple in Sept! For the human baby the time to become mature is much longer of course. Consider the normal year in kindergarten, plus 12 years in school, plus several years in university, and even then most students are still a long way from being mature!

Our journey toward spiritual maturity is very similar to the above process of the apple becoming a tasty delicious fruit. It takes time, and exposure to various situations, some good, and some not so good, but all planned by our heavenly Father to bring us into maturity! The Apostle Peter gives us an excellent description of this process of spiritual growth in his second epistle. Why not take time right now to read it (2 Peter 1:3-11), and meditate on the steps he outlines. He starts with faith, without which it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6), and then adds to faith various qualities such as moral excellence, knowledge, self control, etc. until we reach the point of "love for everyone". This of course is the Greek word [agape], which is the highest type of love, "God's love". This should be the goal for each of us to reach, as followers of Jesus! Right?

I recently read the following quote from ODB devotional on Oct 26, 2008 "The God of all grace works in all His children, humbling the proud and exalting the humble, to make them ripe and sweet. Our task is to take hold of God's grace to endure our afflictions with patience, without growing weary". Then the devotional included the following little poem,

"Our fruitfulness and growth in Christ won't happen instantly,

but meditating on God's Word will bring maturity."---Sper

"Salvation is the miracle of a moment; growth is the labor of a lifetime"

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer