Forever Young

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Hebrews 5:11
So let us stop going over the basic teachings about
Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and
become mature in our understanding (6:1).

Brooke Greenberg likes to giggle and crawl around
just like any other toddler. She’s 76 cm (30 inches)
tall and weighs about 7 kg (16 pounds), but
Brooke was born in 1993. At 18 years old, she’s
still trapped in the body of a 1-year-old due to a rare
condition called Syndrome X. A doctor observed, “Her
cellular age does not match her actual age.”

When the author of Hebrews penned his epistle, he
addressed the spiritual immaturity of his audience. His
concern was that they were acting like spiritual babies
who needed basic instruction instead of more advanced
teaching (5:13). The writer wanted to give them real
spiritual meat, but they hadn’t developed beyond the
intake of spiritual milk. Though they’d been believers
long enough to be teaching others (v.12), they hadn’t
been growing in their knowledge of the Word of God.
This stifling inertia had left them “spiritually dull” (v.11).

They lacked maturity to discern the basic difference
between right and wrong (v.14). In fact, they were
clueless about doing the right things (v.13).
So the author challenged them to move on to maturity
and the deeper truths of the faith (6:1-3). But just prior to
his appeal, he gave them the secret to maturity: Spiritual
maturity comes from the constant application of God’s
Word into the situations of life (5:14). It’s not something
that just develops automatically over time.

Recently, I was reminded that God is more concerned about the way we do
the tasks He’s entrusted to us than in our ability to simply get them done. This is
because He wants us to become like Jesus. But many of us are more concerned
about accomplishing our to-do list than in Christ being formed in us.
Let’s seek to become mature in Jesus as we passionately feed on His Word
and live out its wisdom. —Poh Fang Chia

more›
Read Luke 8:12-14 to see
the things that can stifle
our maturation in Christ.

next›
What situations are you
facing at work, at home,
or in church that require
biblical wisdom? What
principles found in God’s
Word will you apply to
those situations?

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The Power of Words