Building Blocks of Maturity

Have you ever played the UNO Stacko game? The goal is to keep on piling up bricks on the top portion of the structure, and you try to reach the highest peak possible. But after a little while, because of the weak foundation, your structure eventually collapses. And you have to start all over again.

Lately, the Lord has been teaching me lessons about "Maturity." Most of us desire to mature spiritually, the fastest way possible. So we try to abide by the do's and don'ts. We imitate those whom we consider our "spiritual authorities." We begin to act like them and look like them. We may be successful in doing so, yet still, God does not look on the outward appearance of a man. He digs deeper, into the very inner core of our hearts. Jesus is the only one who can bring real transformation in our lives. It is easy to fall into the trap of religiosity like what happened to the Pharisees. They do things that regard them as "mature," but these have become to them, no more than mere rituals.

“Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.” Psalm 32:9

There is no shortcut to maturity. There will be many points in our lives when the road will diverge into an easy one, and a difficult one. Maturity will always lead us to the road less traveled.

"Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so." – Hebrews 6:1-3

God is the one who permits us to go on to maturity. It does not come overnight; it requires a lot of grace, and a lot of hard work. Every single step of obedience is a single step closer to Jesus.

Let us choose to do right not because we’re told to do so, but because it is our anthem of thanksgiving to the Lord for the forgiveness of sins. And let us press on to maturity, being patient in going through every test of faith, and gaining a new understanding of the height and depth of God's love.