After yesterday’s post, I received some questions asking how to identify what is milk and what is meat. A good question. I guess for me it makes most sense to go about the answer two ways. One is to look at some milk/meat topics, and the other is to look at the individual. The former is like asking a pediatrician what your child should be fed, and the latter is like looking at your child’s development on a growth chart to compare where they are to where they should be.
The end of Hebrews 5 talks about milk vs. meat, and the writer laments that they have not moved past milk yet. In the beginning of the next chapter, he goes on to explain what some “milk” teachings are:
- repentance from acts that lead to death
- faith in God
- instruction about baptisms
- the laying on of hands
- the resurrection of the dead
- eternal judgment
Based on these things, I would say that milk is a foundation of facts. A bit of a primer to the Christian faith. Who Jesus was/is, and his purpose for coming, dying and his resurrection. I would call milk teachings “Christianity 101″. In essence, “Jesus died to take away the penalty for my sins, and I want to live forever.” It is all about me and what I get out of the deal. Back again to chapter 5: “anyone who lives on milk is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.” Righteousness is all about what is required of me – not about what I get. Jesus said in John 4:34, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” “To do” sounds like work, and “the will of him that sent me” sounds like it’s not all about me. If we live in the happy stories of Christmas and Easter, we are likely to get lazy and fat. That’s what happens when you lay there and eat baby food.
I’ve been thinking about what the signs of immaturity/maturity would be. I’m sure this isn’t exhaustive, but it’s what I came up with off the top of my head. Feel free to add or dispute in the comments.
Some signs of immaturity:
Passivity. Immature people are lazy and want to be fed. Mature people read and study for themselves. They don’t demand that people talk to them about their favorite comfortable topics. They also are able to spot a bumper-sticker verse a mile away because they have actually read the whole passage.
“Jesus and” Immature people try to add Jesus into their lives. They will find ways to work Jesus in – as long as he is convenient. Mature people allow their lives to be changed, and are active participants. Weeding out your idols is a lifelong process.
Isolation. Immature people believe “it’s all about me and God.” No man is an island. Humans are social creatures. Mature people are involved in community. Mature people are involved in discipleship. They allow more mature people to mentor them, and they in turn help to bring up those newer to the process.
Fruitlessness. Immature people look the part. They don’t change a whole lot. They may have started down that road, but it’s not until you are engaged in the maturing process that you show significant change. The level of joy, peace, patience, self-control, and all the others evident in your life shows what is happening on the inside.
Selfishness. Immature people love to receive. Not just physical gifts, but spiritual ones as well. With maturity, we are driven to give, not receive. Our lives will be marked by selflessness. It’s not about you. It’s about God, and your neighbor. And that only happens as you die to self.
Thrill-seeking. Immature people are always looking for the latest thing. They seek out miracles, words from God, and want to “feel God’s presence”. They follow every “movement” and “outpouring” that hits the circuit. They are all about an emotional experience. A mature connection with God will result in an emotion: fear! If we truly love the Lord and pursue him, we will respect him. We will be more interested in changing ourselves in pursuit of his righteousness, than pursuing him for the rush of the experience.
Easily fooled. Immature people will flock after the latest craze. Partly because of the selfishness and thrill-seeking aspects, but also because they can’t tell the difference! This explains the craze over people like Todd Bentley, the prosperity preachers and numerous other charlatans. They prey on those who are easily fooled. Heb 5:14 says that mature people, through a constant diet of solid food have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Without this, you can’t tell the difference! Like an experienced pawn broker, a mature Christian should be able to identify a fake.
Laziness. A key marker of an immature Christian is that they do… nothing! They are consumers. This is fine when you are new to the faith. In fact, that’s how it’s supposed to work! But if you aren’t new to the faith, get in the game! Are you giving money? Are you giving time? Have you ever worked in the nursery or Sunday School? Any chance you could visit people, fold bulletins or mow the lawn at the church? Do you notice that you see the same people serving at many church functions? Do you notice that you aren’t one of them? Then you are probably an immature, lazy Christian lying around and drinking milk. Again, as Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” What are you doing?
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