One of the markers of Christian maturity that Paul mentions repeatedly is kindness. kindness doesn’t mean that we are squishy on the truth or that we never speak with boldness. Kindness doesn’t mean that we will never do anything that offends others, or even that everyone will like us. What kindness does mean is that, at the end of day, we have compassion and show care to all people, even to those who are anything but kind to us. After all, that’s the heartbeat of our story, a God who showed us such kindness He suffered and died on the cross for us.
John Piper says: “Sin is ugly, it should be killed every day.” As we mature in Christ our sin should become uglier to us, our desire to be free from its presence and impact should great greater. To grow in Christ is to realize more and more that it was our sin that killed Jesus and so as our love for Him grows so too should our desire to put to death the sins for which He died.
The first marker of Christlike maturity that Paul identifies in Ephesians 4 is humility. To grow in Christ is to grow in your understanding of just how far short of the goal of Christlikeness you fall and how incapable you are of achieving that goal on your own you are. As you grow in humility it leads you to be gentler and more forgiving with others. As you grow in your awareness of how patient God is with you, it makes you more patient towards others more able to bear with others, which makes unity with other fallible and faltering followers of Jesus more attainable.
If you wanted to sum up what Christian maturity looks like in one word it would be Jesus. If we were to reach full maturity it would look like us living our lives like Jesus would live them. Ephesians 4 shows us a glimpse of what this look like, how God gets us there and it reminds us that the journey to maturity isn’t meant to be taken alone.
Work is a gift from God. Human beings were made to find purpose and meaning through work. Work is a good thing, but work is not an ultimate thing and work can’t be the only thing. In the second half of Ecclesiastes chapter 2, Solomon extols the virtues of work and wisdom but also comes to the recognition that they are not enough. He acknowledges that in the end no matter how hard you work or how wise you are that death awaits you.
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus says that there should be a difference in his followers that radiates out to the world in such a way that people see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven. Our lives should be a walking billboard for the goodness of God and the difference Jesus makes. If we are going to be the type of people who shine bright for Jesus this year there are things that we are going to need to put off and put on: in the way that we speak to and about others, in the ways we go about our work, and in the priorities and passions that drive us.
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus says that there should be a difference in His followers that radiates out to the world in such a way that people see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven. Our lives should be a walking billboard for the goodness of God and the difference Jesus makes. If we are going to be the type of people who shine bright for Jesus this year there are things that we are going to need to put off and put on: in the way that we speak to and about others, in the ways we go about our work, and in the priorities and passions that drive us.
If we are going to be the type of church that God wants us to be, if we are going to have the type of friendships, families, and marriages that God desires for us to have, it’s going to requires putting off and putting on in the areas of communication and conflict resolution. To love others well we need to be people who put off deception and put on truth. We need to be those who put off resentment and slander and instead put on the boldness to speak directly with others. People who use our words to build up rather than tear down and who replace bitterness and a judgemental spirit with forgiveness and empathy.
In John 14:15 Jesus says to His disciples: “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Loving God evidences itself through changed actions and attitudes. But how does this change take place? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 4:22-24 where he calls us to: “Take off our former way of life, the old self and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness.” If we are going to grow in our love for God this year it’s going to require that we identify those things we need to take off: actions and attitudes that no longer fit who we are in Christ. We then need to identify those things we need to put on: new priorities and patterns of behaviour that fit our new identity in Christ.
In John 14:15 Jesus says to His disciples: “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Loving God evidences itself through changed actions and attitudes. But how does this change take place? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 4:22-24 where he calls us to: “Take off our former way of life, the old self and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness.” If we are going to grow in our love for God this year it’s going to require that we identify those things we need to take off: actions and attitudes that no longer fit who we are in Christ. We then need to identify those things we need to put on: new priorities and patterns of behaviour that fit our new identity in Christ.