Do you remember all those great events in your life, the ones that changed your status one way or the other?  The day you were baptized into Christ?  The day you got married?  The day you turned, legally, into an adult?  The day you had your first child?

Do you remember the sudden change?  Do you remember thinking, "Wow! So this is what it feels like to be an adult," or a wife, or a mother, or a Christian?  Do you remember how different the world looked, and how different you felt inside? 

No, I don't either.  What I remember feeling was a little disappointed.  I saw the same world with the same eyes, had the same feelings, and thought the same thoughts.  But my status had changed.  Finally, I realized it was up to me to change with it.  It was my job to be that Christian, that wife, that mother, that adult, and somehow along the way I figured out how.  Well, let me help you with at least one of those things this morning.

…till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Eph 4:13.

Do you see that word "fullgrown" in the verse above?  The ESV translates it "mature manhood," in other words, an adult.  I looked up the word and was in for a shock.  You know all those times the Bible talks about being "perfect?"  (At least many of those times.)  It's the same word.  You could easily substitute "mature" for "perfect."  Sometimes it is translated "complete," and we often hang our hats on that peg in order to avoid the cop-out, "I can't be perfect," which we think excuses us from even trying.  But try substituting "mature" instead.  While every one of us will deny we are "perfect," if we have been Christians for any length of time, we all want to think we are mature instead of the oft maligned, "babes in Christ."

So I looked up passages that use that word and did my little substitution trick and suddenly I had a list by which to gauge my spiritual growth.  That list also did more than step on my toes; it veritably stomped them to mush.  Come limp along with me this morning.

​“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 'But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,​so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.​For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?​ You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:43-48)

Look at the end of that passage.  "Be perfect."  There is the word, the one that is translated fullgrown or mature in Ephesians 4.  One way to see if you have matured in Christ is how you treat your enemies.  And may I suggest that it also applies to how you treat a brother you may have a problem with.  The things I see on Facebook in the political season tell me that some still have a lot of growing up to do. 

Here is another:  Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Matt 19:21).

There it is again, "if you would be perfect."  Substitute mature and you have it.  Obviously Jesus does not teach that it is wrong to be rich.  Many wealthy people helped him survive during his ministry.  Paul talks about how the rich brethren should live in 1 Tim 6.  But this young man, the one we commonly call the rich, young ruler, had an obvious attachment to his wealth and property.  What Jesus is teaching us here is that our earthly attachments can tell tales about our lack of spiritual maturity.  It might not be wealth.  It might be a career.  It might be a person.  It might be status and power.  Paul counted these things "as loss" when he became a Christian, and he had far more to lose than many of us.  If you would draw a line anywhere in your service to God, he will sooner or later bring you to that line and demand that you cross it.  That is your test of spiritual maturity.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Jas 1:2-4)

Do you want to show your maturity in Christ?  Then you must endure trials and come through them with your faith intact.  You may ask why, you may complain—Job did that--but his faith and trust in God never wavered, not even when the one who was supposed to be his helper encouraged him to "curse God and die."  And you will be tested.  When God said we would have thorns, thistles, toil, labor, sweat, and pain, he was not talking about planting a garden—he was talking about life!  To expect anything else is also a sign of immaturity.  Only children expect fairy tales.

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. (Jas 3:2).

And yet another way we can measure our spiritual growth is by whether or not we control our tongues.  Yes, that word "perfect" is the one we have been discussing.  If you are able to control your tongue, you are mature.  Children will react, but a mature adult will think before he speaks.

And this is only part of the list I found.  Check with me tomorrow morning and see the rest.
 
Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Col 1:28)
Dene Ward

I grew up listening to my whole family, especially my uncles, root for the Florida Gators.  It's in the blood, I guess, so I have always rooted for them too, even during losing years, even when once again they handed a win over to their opponents.  But finally, on January 2, 1997, the Gators won their first National Football Championship.  The first is always special, but it also came at the expense of the perennial and hated foe, Florida State.  That made it even sweeter.

              It began as a nail-biter.  We led 24-17 at the half, but they had already beaten us once that year (helped by a slew of uncalled roughing the quarterback plays).  We weren't far into the second half before it was 24-20.  Then Danny, Ike, and Reidel took over the offense, and the defense stood firm.  That was the Seminoles' last score and we finished 52-20.  I enjoyed the second half much more than the first.  In fact, I have developed a bit of a reputation.

           “That was your kind of game!” Lucas texted a few weeks ago when the Gators tromped their opponent by nearly 30 points.  Indeed it was, my favorite kind of game.
 
             The boys have taught me well, not only strategies and terms, but who to root for in football, basketball, and baseball.  The Gators, the Rays, the USF Bulls, the Miami Dolphins, the Buccaneers, sometimes the Jags if they aren’t thoroughly embarrassing themselves, and any SEC team that is not playing Florida at the moment. 

              But if any of those teams are playing, I do not enjoy what most people call “a good game.”  Why would anyone enjoy something that causes heart-burn, heart palpitations, and heart-ache?  I cringe until the score becomes outrageously unbeatable, and then sit back and enjoy the rest.  That’s my kind of game.

              And though it certainly isn’t a game, that’s the way I like my contests with the Devil too.  It ought to be that lopsided a score.  We have a Savior who has already taken care of the hard part.  We are already so far ahead, even before we start, that a comeback by the opponent should be unthinkable.  We have an example how to overcome.  We have help overcoming.  We have a promise that we CAN overcome if we just try.  We have every possible advantage, including coaches and trainers and all-star teammates, and a playbook that is infallible. 

              We have the motivation too.  As we said, this isn’t a game.  There is no next season, and defeat is an unthinkable consequence that should spur us on to adrenalin-boosted, nearly superhuman feats.  And the trophy is far better than anything offered us in this life.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  Now they do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one, 1 Cor 9:25.  That crown is called a “crown of life” in several passages—an eternal life with our Creator. 

              Do not make your game a close one.  Don’t sit back and let the Adversary make a comeback.  Don’t fumble the ball, or commit an error, or make a turnover out of carelessness and apathy.  Victory is not handed to you on a platter.  You still have to want to win, and fight like that every minute.  My kind of game may not appeal to you when you watch your favorite teams play, but it should be the only kind you want when your soul is at stake. 

              We are “more than conquerors” with the help of God (Rom 8:37).  His game plan involves a rout, running up the score, and rubbing the enemy’s nose in defeat.  And it can go exactly that way with just a little effort on your part.
 
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"...But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:53-55, 57
 
Dene Ward