Mature in Christ

I want to paint a picture for you…close your eyes and in your mind’s eye, picture this. It is April, just about the time when it is starting to get nice outside. Trees and flowers are blooming. Ahhchoo! Yes, for some, allergies are sure to follow. You’re in Boston for the running of the Boston Marathon. Bright sunny blue skies and 20,000 runners there ready to run this race filled with tradition, honor and timeless history. People actually cannot just sign up to run for this race, they have to qualify for it, which is extremely hard. Years of practice, training and hard work for one moment in history.

When you think of a marathon runner, what comes to mind? Physically fit, ability to endure 26 miles of running, exhausted, they practice and train a lot, perhaps you know someone who does. A friend of mine’s dad actually qualified for the Boston Marathon. We were all so proud of him when he did. It was a monumental accomplishment for someone from the town of East Peoria, Illinois to have actually qualified for a World renown race such as this one. Have you ever seen a marathon runner look back at where they have been? Think about that for a second…a runner looking back...no, you do not. They are always moving forward toward the finish line aren’t they? The closest thing you might see them do is take a gaze back at someone attempting to pass them.

What does it mean to be “Mature in Christ?” It is not an easy question to answer as a matter of fact. I know, you are probably thinking a definition is on its way, well, you’re correct. However, first I would like to read our scripture for today. Philippians 3:12-4:1 is our Scripture and after this week, we only have 2 more weeks of Philippians left before we move on. Yeah!! If you would, read along with me.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

4 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

So, naturally, as I have stated earlier, the title of the sermon today is “Mature in Christ” because everything that Paul has been talking about up to this point has to do with a Spiritual Maturity that is required of those in the faith who have been there for a while. So, what does is truly mean to be mature? There are 2 definitions for mature that caught my eye. The second definition has about 4 different meanings. One of them is having completed natural growth and development and having achieved a low but stable growth rate. I really think Paul has a two-fold message within this word of mature. I got told that all the time after I turned 18. Grow up, be mature!! We emphasize maturity physically and emotionally to our children and expect them to do so. But are we encouraging and training them in spiritual maturity? Not just our kids and grandkids, but every child we meet. Sometimes adults who aren’t related have some of the most influence on us.

As a kid, I was highly impressionable, as are all kids. My dad worked for the State of Illinois as a Highway Maintainer, but before that, he cleaned the Rest Areas on I-74 between Peoria and Bloomington for the state. He was transferred to the Highway department after they hired the mentally disabled to work these positions. But it was a friend that my dad had made while working at the Rest Area. They developed a friendship and over the years we helped him farm his land, care for his hogs and played golf together. He was a good man, a good husband and I looked up to him highly.

You see, I think Paul was talking about the maturity that we all desire as kids. We see those people older than us who we want to be like and we go after it…sometimes too quickly. It is not the physical necessarily, but on one hand, he is talking about being a part of the believing community of Christ. The people in Philippi and those of us sitting in this church today and across the world are all a part of this believing community. Paul is talking to us because we are a part of this community.
The second part of what Paul is talking about is the completeness that we will achieve through Christ. Earlier in our text for today, Paul states that not even he has achieved this even though he has won many spiritual battles. Paul talks about being made perfect in Christ. This is the spiritual maturity that he is referring to. However, in this life, spiritual maturity is something we will never obtain.

That almost sounds depressing doesn’t it?! But think about it this way. In order to receive the promise of eternal life and perfection, we have to go through death, just like Christ did. Perfection is unobtainable here on Earth, no matter how good of a Christian we become. The problem is, our human nature gets in the way of this perfection. Just like we have the opportunity to choose Christ as our savior, we have the choice throughout our life to continue to follow Christ and grow closer to him or become stagnant in our walk and continue to look behind us.

Paul of all people was well versed in the realm of having a past. He knew that looking back there was nothing he could do. All he could do was look forward to the finish line…to the death that awaits all humanity and attempt to grow closer to Christ as he went. The future is in our hands and what we do with it is totally up to us.

Remember back to the marathon runner? What would happen if he constantly looked back? More than likely, he would crash right into something. He would run off course, hit another runner, miss a water recharging station, or even miss the opportunity to prepare for the road ahead. If the course goes downhill then back up, he might be able to conserve energy down and save it for the trek back up.

This is exactly the way it is with us. If we look back, we dwell in the past and remain spiritually, physically and emotionally stunted. Spiritually, we will not be able to find a more completeness in Christ. Physically, we may mature, but we will not be able to move past the hurt and pain of our regrets that have plagued us. Emotionally, we’ll be trapped at the age we were when stopped looking forward.
So, what is the answer? Isaiah 43:18-19 says, 18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

If we dwell on the past, we will miss the fact that God makes a path for us through our troubles. By looking back, we will miss the path that God provides through the desert of our life. At any given moment, God provides paths that we must choose in order to free ourselves from the bondage we have. We must learn to look forward into the future, not at the past and recognize God’s path when it comes our way. If God has forgotten our sin, shouldn’t we forget it too? I promise it will only get in the way if you remember it. Use it to God’s advantage and the betterment of God’s kingdom. The pain and bitterness we feel about our past should be forgotten, the lessons learned applied to our lives and look forward to a bright future to the perfection we will obtain in Christ upon death.

Take on the example of the runner. Be cautious about looking back, because we just might crash into our future.

There was a nurse on the pediatric ward, before listening to the little ones' chests, would plug the stethoscope into their ears and let them listen to their own heart. Their eyes would always light up with awe, but she never got a response equal to four-year old David's comment. Gently she tucked the stethoscope into his ears and placed the disk over his heart. 'Listen', she said...'What do you suppose that is?' He drew his eyebrows together in a puzzled line and looked up as if lost in the mystery of the strange tap - tap - tapping deep in his chest. Then his face broke out in a wondrous grin and he asked, 'Is that Jesus knocking?'

My dear friends, is Jesus knocking on your door? Can you hear him pleading with you to drop whatever it is in your past that is burdening you? Please, follow his lead, because he died so that you wouldn’t have to bear the burden it lays. Be cautious about looking back, because you just might crash into your future.

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