1-3So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You've had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God. (The Message)
Maturity is something we usually see in ourselves and want others to grow into. We look at the actions, attitudes, and intent of others and we think to ourselves, "I wish they would grow up." It happens for all of us whether we are 12 looking upon an 8 year old sibling or 40 considering the actions of a 25 year old co-worker. We pass judgement on the maturity of others and sometimes in moments of self-awareness even upon our own past actions. The usual problem with maturity is that we aren't sure how to actually achieve it. We know what it looks like but outside of time and experience how does one come to that point?
Peter gives us a hint at what should be gone from our lives as we become more mature. He suggests that we get rid of malice, pretense, envy, and hurtful talk. You and I both know however that as much as we might want these things to be gone from our lives wanting it does not make it happen. The suggestion of drinking deeply of God's kindness then might be a clue for us to consider. By focusing upon God's kindness in the forgiveness of our sins, patience with our shortcomings, love for us when we aren't very love able, etc. we can begin recognizing the need we have to give others the same kindness. Maybe becoming mature is as simple as "We love, because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- Have you ever had a moment where you suddenly asked yourself, "Why am I acting so immature?" What made you aware of your actions?
- Would you consider yourself to be a mature follower of Jesus? Why or why not?
- What part of God's kindness to you have you been ignoring?
- What one thing might you do today to grow closer to maturity in Jesus eyes?
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