Puberty. Immaturity. Adolescence. Days of change, growth and hormones. As the mother of three daughters, it appeared to be never-ending. None of our "cycles" coincided . . . so once a week it never failed . . . someone was in a foul mood. Random mornings getting ready for school an argument would break out about borrowing clothes without permission, taking too long in the bathroom, or just plain annoyance for no reason . . . just because. What is a mother to do? Pray for sanity! It does pass and they do eventually grow up (thank you, Jesus!).
Our journey as Christians is a form of emotional puberty. We shoot for maturity, but will hit bumps along the road. Lots of bumps. We question Scripture, we become irritated when the teachings in the Bible don't coincide with our beliefs . . . or, to put it another way, our indiscretions. So many blind themselves from the truth of their sins because it's too hard not getting what you want or desire. For example, becoming pro-choice if you have had an abortion (or know someone close to you who has) when the Bible says you should not kill. When I had my abortion at age 18, I didn't want to be tied down with a child. In my mind, it would have put an end to my going away to college and having freedom from the crushing pressure of taking care of a mother with mental illness. So I did it and made myself feel justified in the decision. Of course, over time, I came to realize the choice I made was immature after I had committed such a mature act. It all boils down to this: grow up and begin to mature spiritually. Look at your sins, those buried deep inside causing you to make decisions based on what justifies those sins, and stop denying the truth. It's a harsh reality, but Jesus is worth it!
Todays Gospel (Luke 7:31-35) finds Jesus a little frustrated with immaturity:
Jesus said to the crowds: "To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,
'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'
For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."
Our journey as Christians is a form of emotional puberty. We shoot for maturity, but will hit bumps along the road. Lots of bumps. We question Scripture, we become irritated when the teachings in the Bible don't coincide with our beliefs . . . or, to put it another way, our indiscretions. So many blind themselves from the truth of their sins because it's too hard not getting what you want or desire. For example, becoming pro-choice if you have had an abortion (or know someone close to you who has) when the Bible says you should not kill. When I had my abortion at age 18, I didn't want to be tied down with a child. In my mind, it would have put an end to my going away to college and having freedom from the crushing pressure of taking care of a mother with mental illness. So I did it and made myself feel justified in the decision. Of course, over time, I came to realize the choice I made was immature after I had committed such a mature act. It all boils down to this: grow up and begin to mature spiritually. Look at your sins, those buried deep inside causing you to make decisions based on what justifies those sins, and stop denying the truth. It's a harsh reality, but Jesus is worth it!
Todays Gospel (Luke 7:31-35) finds Jesus a little frustrated with immaturity:
Jesus said to the crowds: "To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,
'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'
For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."
In Anne a lay apostle's book Whispers From the Cross, she couldn't have made a better point about spiritual immaturity and why we need to move past emotional puberty:
"People look different when we are looking at them through the eyes of Christ than they do when we look at them through the eyes of the enemy of Christ. God’s eyes will always look compassionately on a person. This does not mean that Christ’s eyes are blinded to truth. On the contrary, it is perfect truth to say that the eyes of the Savior view with complete truth. We can be observers of those around us and also be compassionate, keeping the flaws of others in perspective. Immature spirituality focuses on sin, sin and more sin. All day long, the newcomer thinks about sin, in himself and others. Now when a person is learning a new sport, the rules are explained to him and the novice begins participation by trying not to break the rules. There is no other way. If you do not learn the rules, you cannot play the game with any success. But this must eventually blend into a more advanced performance where the athlete is freed from the constant worry about breaking the rules as he rises to a level of participation where he experiences the beauty of the sport."
Lay apostles, are you making excuses for breaking the rules of our faith? Are you blaming or condemning others because they don't agree with your new version of the rules? If you are a follower of Christ, listen to His Words. He is the Truth. If you are living a life making exceptions to His rules, rethink what you are doing. He is so merciful and forgives easily when His children ask and then live their lives accordingly. None of us are perfect. Not one. But if we try to live our lives in commitment to Him, we will move through emotional puberty to emotional maturity.
Thank you, Lord, for the lessons I have learned the hard way and in retrospect. I will continue to work on my emotional and spiritual maturity . . . and I apologize in advance if I revert back to puberty once in a while!
God bless,
Bonnie
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