Read: Hebrews 6:1-4

We aren’t good Christians and bad Christians. You either follow Jesus or you don’t. But there is the aspect of maturity.

I love watching my two-year-old granddaughter interact with her surroundings. This weekend while glamping, she rarely ate off her own plate. It’s not to say she didn’t eat, she just didn’t always eat off her plate. She wandered the group and ate little bits from any plate that looked good to her. That isn’t a mature eating style.

When her parents announced nap time she broke into sobs and pleadings of all kinds. She suddenly needed food, water, grandpa, grandma – anything except a nap. Tears streamed down her precious little face as she attempted to avoid the inevitable. This isn’t a mature method of relating to a superior.

But we forgive her immature ways because she is two. In some situations, she is mature beyond her age. But still not where we hope for her to be in five years, ten years or twenty years.

It is easy to forget that spiritual lives also need time to mature. I am embarrassed by some of the things I did in my younger spiritual days. I wince, hoping no one brings it up because it was genuinely immature.

Physically, we mature and put childish ways behind us. And that is what should happen. When children don’t mature, grow, change as expected, it is a cause for concern. Help is sought. A diagnosis and treatment plan follow enabling the child to develop in age appropriate ways.

It is right to be concerned if signs of spiritual maturation are not there. Finding the cause is the wise next step so remediation and development can happen.

Are you spiritually age appropriate? Do you look back and see development from the moment you became a follower of Jesus to where you are now? What needs to change if that isn’t the case?