Growing up in faith

by | Mar 9, 2023 | 2011 | 0 comments

A young couple with two little boys visited our home recently, and I was reminded how often little ones have to be warned about things that might hurt them.

‘Don’t touch, be careful, it’s hot, it will cut you, it will break’. The list seems endless. The poor parents were exhausted by the time they left, and my wife and I tried to encourage them with reassurances that our children had been no different.

But the short visit also brought back memories of how young enquiring minds are instantly attracted to things forbidden to them. It seems that whatever they’re not allowed to touch suddenly becomes the most interesting and exciting thing in the room.

It occurred to me that we never really grow out of that. The apostle Paul lamented Romans in 7:7-8, ‘What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “ You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting.’

The rules are there to protect us from ourselves, from our own stupidity or ignorance. But as Paul said, the very rule itself seems to cry out for us to break it.

Throughout our lives, temptations abound. And all too often, we give in. When we’re little, adults are usually there to stop us. But when we grow up, we have to take responsibility for our own choices.

Paul wants us to know two things about this frustrating human condition. One is that even though we often fail in our efforts to overcome sin, God loves us and forgives us. In verses 24-25, Paul concludes, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Our salvation is never in jeopardy, not because we’re good, but because God is good. He loves us, and nothing, not even sin, can change that. But Christ came to save us from sin and its destructive results, not to make it okay to sin.

So the other thing Paul wants us to remember is that we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). Sin hurts us and it hurts those around us. It ruins relationships, alienating us from other people and from God.

But God sent his Son to deliver us from everything that destroys us. Paul describes these ‘acts of the flesh’ in Galatians 5:20-21: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Consequences

In Jesus, who is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30), we don’t live that way, but in the flesh we often still do, as Paul said in Romans 7. The good news is that in this struggle, God is always with us and he never stops loving us. But there are still consequences in this life that follow from every decision we make.

As God’s beloved children in Christ, we have choices to make. God wants us to make right choices, not wrong ones. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). That is where the Spirit leads us, and the Spirit never rests from that sometimes painful work of transforming us into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Paul wrote to the Ephesian church, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

God has already forgiven all our sins and done everything necessary for our salvation (2 Peter 1:3), and he’s done it so that we can grow into everything he made us to be in Christ. And that’s the point. Because we are God’s children, we have an obligation to live as God’s children and behave in such a way that people can see we are God’s children. Our Father doesn’t want us to live in ways that hurt us and hurt those around us. He wants us to carry the family name responsibly so that we can live with each other and with him in the fullness of his joy.

Those two little boys were quite a handful, and I have to admit I was relieved when their parents finally took them home. I’m glad our heavenly Father never grows tired of us – despite how much trouble we get into. Growing up can be hard, but there is one thing we can take great comfort in: Even when we’re at our worst, God’s love for us never ceases. After all, it’s when we’re at our worst that we need his love the most.

 

 

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