Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As human beings we are a funny and confusing people. When we are kids we want to mature to be able to do things that adults can do. When we reach a certain age as adults we want to be kids again.
When I was a young man I was always striving to “play with the big boys.” One of my uncles is 12 years older than I am. When we would be at my grandma’s he had a group of friends that would play basketball at the local LCMS School. I remember this from a young age and still recall when my uncle asked if I wanted to play. I thought I had made the “big time.” I had matured to the point where I could compete with fellas older than I was.
The other instance was on the other side of my family. When we got together on Christmas Eve it was eating, gift opening and then the adults played cards. Being the oldest cousin I was put in charge of the other cousins. A nice, mature responsibility to be sure, but I wanted at that card table. I finally made it and all of this played into my maturity, responsibility, and independence.
Paul writes this to the Colossians, “Him (Jesus) we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” This is what we strive for. To have a faith that trusts in our Savior. We don’t want to be that infant crying when things don’t go our way. We want a faith that stands tall, that doesn’t break down when the valleys come. A certain maturity that comes with experience.
At the same time we don’t want to lose the “child-like” faith that Scripture talks about. This is the danger because as adults we see so much, we deal with so much, we can become cynical and jaded and our trust can erode. The beauty is that the Holy Spirit can lead us down a path of a child-like faith with maturity. Our faith plays with “the big boys” and we have a seat at the table.
Prayerfully we are always growing which lasts a lifetime. Just look at what the Lord has taught you in just the last year. By virtue of our Baptism into Christ we can be what the Lord wants us to be – mature Christians with wisdom proclaiming Christ and Him crucified.
In Christ,
Pastor Lueck