On Being a Disciple—The Cycle of Spiritual Maturity
Developing Spiritual Wisdom & Understanding—Colossians 1:9-12
Do you know the difference in knowledge and wisdom, or knowledge and understanding? You see, Paul prays for the Colossians to not only be filled with the “knowledge of His will” in Colossians 1:9, but also for it to be “in all spiritual wisdom and understanding”. In other words, having a head full of knowledge is not enough! God desires for us to grasp how to apply the knowledge we have to the things we face in this life in light of the spiritual realm! Spiritual maturity comes from learning about the things of God and then recognizing how those things provide guidance for the situations we face in this earthly realm.
How often do we go through experiences that are wasted because we are not prepared or disciplined enough to learn the lessons they could teach us? How many times do we have to learn lessons two, three, four times because we did not take the knowledge the situation was supplying and apply it to who our God is and what this means in the spiritual realm?
For instance, how many lessons do you think Judas heard about not being able to serve God and mammon; or about storing up treasure in this life and not being rich toward God? Yet, John tells us clearly at the end of Jesus’ ministry that Judas was a thief who used to pilfer money from the moneybox the apostles had with them (John 12:6). Surely, he could have repeated many of the lessons Jesus had taught in his presence! So, why didn’t they change his behavior? It appears Judas had a really hard time discerning the spiritual implications behind Jesus’ teachings and missed out on a grand scale!
LOOK! The Scriptures are loaded with stories where people had the teachings of God before them and somehow missed out on the real meaning behind them! What part of, “Thou shall not make any graven images” did Aaron misunderstand? Yet 40 days without Moses, and a mob that is getting impatient and possibly unruly can sure affect one’s spiritual perception—Right, Jesus? Solomon was given a gift of wisdom by God that led to him becoming the most powerful, wealthy and influential king, perhaps of all time. So, what happened? Remember, it is a Spiritual Maturity CYCLE!!! We are called to continue through the process of learning the knowledge of the will of God in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so it becomes part of our walk and then bears fruit over and over again. Somehow the process was short-circuited in the life of Solomon as he chased after women, riches and other things that took his heart away from God.
Do you see what Paul was praying for? He was praying for our eyes to be opened to the spiritual realm so we evaluate everything according to this perspective. Spiritual maturity is an impossibility without this! So, as you face the trials, frustrations, and even the joys of this upcoming week, may you take the time to consider how they apply to this world AND how they prepare you for life in the next. That is true wisdom and understanding!
-Scott
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Filled With the Knowledge of His Will—Colossians 1:9-12
On Being a Disciple—The Cycle of Spiritual Maturity
Filled With the Knowledge of His Will—Colossians 1:9-12
Having recently moved to the Dallas area, there have been many times I have not known how to find a place I was supposed to be at. OK—maybe I should just say it—I have been lost! Mapquest has been a help at times, but it is certainly not flawless. So, can you just picture me lost in the midst of the Metroplex and stopping to ask a young man who is by the side of the road for directions? I roll down the window and ask, “Excuse me, but could you tell me the way to Parkland Hospital from here?” “Well,” the boy answers, “You go down this road about a mile and turn left by the gas station. Then you turn right at the 3rd street. That will bring you to a place where three streets meet at the George Bush Tollway. Once you get there, you had better find someone else to ask how to get the rest of the way.”
How many of you would be frustrated with directions like this? If so, perhaps that is why we find it so hard to walk with God during various trials or uncertain situations. This is a parable of life! When the ultimate end is uncertain, isn’t it good to get directions, however sketchy they might be, that move us, if only a few steps, in the right direction rather than in an incorrect direction? “Can’t you just give it all to me now?” “God, you know where I am supposed to wind up, so why not just give me the whole picture now and I will do my best to follow directions?”
Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-12 for the believers at Colossae to become more mature in their spiritual walk began, and came back to, their developing an increased knowledge of God and His will. As stated in last week’s article, the point of this cycle is that we are never to stop growing in our relationship with God. The steps of the cycle lead us back to an “increase in the knowledge of God” so every other part of the cycle also increases each time we work through it.
Do you understand what this means, Church? There should never be a point in which we have arrived and are done growing! Life itself should teach us this lesson! How many things that you learned the first 20 years of your life have changed since that time? How many things have been discovered or invented over the past 20 years? How could you possibly keep up if you stopped learning? It is a true statement that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever,” however, at what point will you have Him and His ways all figured out? We can count on His consistency (thus the teaching from Hebrews 13:8), but the very nature of things calls for us to keep on growing in our knowledge of Him (thus Paul’s prayer on behalf of the Colossians).
So, what does God want you to learn today? Are you ready? Is your spirit teachable and moldable? What have the experiences of your past week taught you about who God is and what he wills for your life? I am sure Paul prays the same prayer for us as he did for the Colossians! But, even if you are not confident in that, then I will offer this prayer on your behalf throughout this week! Let’s keep growing in our knowledge of God and see where that takes us in the other parts of the cycle of spiritual maturity. Next week we talk about developing spiritual wisdom and understanding.
-Scott
Filled With the Knowledge of His Will—Colossians 1:9-12
Having recently moved to the Dallas area, there have been many times I have not known how to find a place I was supposed to be at. OK—maybe I should just say it—I have been lost! Mapquest has been a help at times, but it is certainly not flawless. So, can you just picture me lost in the midst of the Metroplex and stopping to ask a young man who is by the side of the road for directions? I roll down the window and ask, “Excuse me, but could you tell me the way to Parkland Hospital from here?” “Well,” the boy answers, “You go down this road about a mile and turn left by the gas station. Then you turn right at the 3rd street. That will bring you to a place where three streets meet at the George Bush Tollway. Once you get there, you had better find someone else to ask how to get the rest of the way.”
How many of you would be frustrated with directions like this? If so, perhaps that is why we find it so hard to walk with God during various trials or uncertain situations. This is a parable of life! When the ultimate end is uncertain, isn’t it good to get directions, however sketchy they might be, that move us, if only a few steps, in the right direction rather than in an incorrect direction? “Can’t you just give it all to me now?” “God, you know where I am supposed to wind up, so why not just give me the whole picture now and I will do my best to follow directions?”
Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-12 for the believers at Colossae to become more mature in their spiritual walk began, and came back to, their developing an increased knowledge of God and His will. As stated in last week’s article, the point of this cycle is that we are never to stop growing in our relationship with God. The steps of the cycle lead us back to an “increase in the knowledge of God” so every other part of the cycle also increases each time we work through it.
Do you understand what this means, Church? There should never be a point in which we have arrived and are done growing! Life itself should teach us this lesson! How many things that you learned the first 20 years of your life have changed since that time? How many things have been discovered or invented over the past 20 years? How could you possibly keep up if you stopped learning? It is a true statement that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever,” however, at what point will you have Him and His ways all figured out? We can count on His consistency (thus the teaching from Hebrews 13:8), but the very nature of things calls for us to keep on growing in our knowledge of Him (thus Paul’s prayer on behalf of the Colossians).
So, what does God want you to learn today? Are you ready? Is your spirit teachable and moldable? What have the experiences of your past week taught you about who God is and what he wills for your life? I am sure Paul prays the same prayer for us as he did for the Colossians! But, even if you are not confident in that, then I will offer this prayer on your behalf throughout this week! Let’s keep growing in our knowledge of God and see where that takes us in the other parts of the cycle of spiritual maturity. Next week we talk about developing spiritual wisdom and understanding.
-Scott
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