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Poor Boy Hat
May. 1, 2008
Embracing Immaturity
Interesting title, I know. Hopefully you'll understand what I mean by that by the time I'm done. I must say, this is one of the few posts I've written that I'm actually excited about.
Incidentally, I've found that I write better while listening to music. The set music for this article is Dead Poetic, and I'm currently on "Self-Destruct & Die".
Now, to begin.
First, what do I mean when I say immaturity? Well, generally when we use that term to describe a fellow human we mean that they are behaving in some way younger than their actual age. That isn't what I mean when I use it here. I am referring more to what a birdwatcher would say when he sees a young eagle. He would say that it is an "immature golden eagle", meaning that it has not yet acquired all the adult characteristics. So, in that sense immaturity simply means being young.
Now, what immaturity am I referring to specifically? I am explicitly talking about spiritual immaturity. Or rather, Christian immaturity.
I personally think that we homeschoolers have a problem. And that problem is this: we have heard our whole lives that homeschooling will produce better, stronger Christians than public or private schooling. We have been told that homeschoolers are more knowledgeable than the average kids. Now, you probably aren't seeing why this is a problem. Well, it isn't a problem in itself, and is in fact true to an extent. The problem is this:
We as homeschoolers and Christians have been taught so much and we have so much knowledge about God, the Bible, etc (which is all a good thing, mind you), that we feel the need to use it. So we do things like start blogs and we talk about theology and we debate the Bible and Christianity. But all along something isn't right.
What isn't right? Here's the simple truth, you cannot be born mature. Your parents cannot make you mature. So, if we really have had a "second birth" as Christians, than clearly there is a maturing that needs to take place that has to go on inside of us personally. Nobody can make me mature or do anything but give me the food I need to grow. What I do with that is my choice.
To be perfectly honest, knowledge isn't maturity. Right behavior isn't maturity. Proper theology is not maturity.
What I'm talking about is maturity as a follower of Christ. Maturity in your relationship with Christ. I'm talking about the kind of maturity that turns knowledge into passion and turns what you've been taught into a personally significant walk with Christ. That is maturity.
I have a lot of Bible knowledge. I can write about the Bible, I can be convincing, I can be complemented. I am a spiritually immature person.
I have only just started down the deeper paths of Christianity. I have only just started making my faith something completely independent of those around me. I have just begun getting deeper and more intimate with God himself.
This is not a bad thing. That is why this is titled "Embracing Immaturity". We should be immature at some point, because you cannot become mature without first being immature. We should acknowledge that everything we have been taught is useless without God's Holy Spirit working inside us personally. We should accept that we have only just begun to stop loving the facts and start loving the God that they point to.
So don't be afraid to admit immaturity. Jump into your immaturity and watch it become more and more the true maturity of a follower of Christ. And don't let external expectations stop you from being honest about who you are in Christ. |
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May. 3, 2008 - hey