Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Grow Up


1 Corinthians 13:11When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Not everything is right in our culture, and this ‘Keep Calm’ poster this week is a prime example. Peter Pan may have been the boy that never grew up, but there is a price to pay for immaturity in society. This is neither Never Never Land nor Fantasyland. Instead of aging gracefully, the mantra today seems to be “never grow up/never grow old (i.e. Swift or Urban or anyone else) in this self/pleasure-seeking age. What do we deserve? I just see manifest problems in this theme of life. And sounds similar to the devil’s lie in Genesis 3:5 that “You will be like God.” Society says to ‘grow up’ and mature into an adult contributing to society. God says to ‘grow up’ and mature into an adult contributing to the kingdom of heaven, but the world says “don’t listen to either of them; reject all that is old, stay a child, live for today and do whatever you want, whenever you want”.

Hebrews 5:12-14 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

 

This destructive existential philosophy is not new. I remember the propaganda of the 60’s, where the youth were being told to “question authority” because I was there in those ‘drugs, sex, rock and roll’ days. I couldn’t and will never see or understand how counter-culture, rebellious, wild and immaturity equates to joy in the soul or helps our community unity. Is it godly? I doubt if God is even in the though-process here because it is so focus on self-fulfillment. And along with turning our backs on biblical standards of God and a Christ-centered life exits godly morals, ethics, manners, honor and respect. Plus, it always seems like worldly attempts to satisfy the sinful flesh desires as a pleasure/party way of life lead to depression, not lasting happiness because we visit may Disneyland (the happiest place on earth), but we don’t live there. We cannot abandon or ignore the foundation without the house eventually collapsing mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and maybe even physically. What fills the God-shaped hole for love, joy and peace in everyone’s life? Speak the truth in love, including “Grow up”, mature in Christ and life.



 Ephesians 4:11-15 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

 


In Christ, Brian

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