real maturity
Real maturity only comes after a season of alienation and desertion, and to continue maturing we’ll need many of these seasons.
[Sigh.]
We all have a progression to our faith journey; in different seasons we may be growing in maturity and our sensitivity to the Spirit. In other seasons, we may be struggling with a temptation or difficulty that perhaps even isolates us. The former is usually a season of favor and abundance; the latter a season of alienation and desertion.
Look at the progression in the person of Jesus:
“Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52
“The Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil…The devil said to him:
… If you are the Son of God
… I will give you all this
… If you are the Son of God” Luke 4:2-10
Notice how quickly even Jesus is taken from a season of favor & abundance, into a season of alienation and desertion. The bedrock of his identity as God’s Son is used against him in the temptation. Then, the ruler of this world offers the world to him, literally. Jesus met each temptation with Scripture, standing firm and maturing as he fought with his enemy.
We have all known times of temptation when our identity is used against us to create doubt and fear in our lives. The enemy is working to paralyze our identity so that we cannot move in the ways the Spirit leads.
We have all known times of temptation when the things of this world are offered to us to become a hindrance or weight or stronghold in our lives. The enemy is working to entangle us in the things of his kingdom so that we cannot function appropriately in God’s Kingdom.
We’ve seen these at play this week, but with the right eyes and ears we have also seen them at play in our own hearts. We have begun to have conversation as a group about what the Lord is shaping in each one of us; areas where he is reforming our identity and removing things from this world. Join us in prayer, as we come into our last two days here, that the same Lord who taught the Son lessons of maturity in the desert, would continue to teach us and lead us
