The Bible has a lot to say about maturing in Christ. It talks a lot about our growing up in the Lord. The problem, though, is the word “maturity.” It is a very boring word. The very word implies that you become stuffy, petrified, “a stick in the mud.” It implies that becoming mature is when you quit having fun and decide to live a dull life. With all this in mind, teenagers especially shy away from the whole idea of maturing of growing up. But nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to growing up in Christ.
I first got on fire for the Lord when I was 16-years-old. I talked a hundred miles a minute about how God has changed my life, how thrilled I was to be saved, how cool it was to be a Christian, and how excited I was to really know Jesus. The impression I got from people was, “Don’t worry, After a while, you will calm down.” It was almost as if they were saying that when you get “mature in Jesus” you won’t be so excited. Well, if that is maturity, I don’t want it. But as you will soon see, that is not what maturity in Christ is. In fact, as you grow in the Lord and get closer to him, you ought to be more excited. When you learn more about God, how could it possibly make you more calm? It should make you more thrilled to be saved and to be close to Him.
THE FIRST MYTH ABOUT MATURITY: IF YOU BECOME MATURE, YOU WILL BE A BORING PERSON AND A BORING CHRISTIAN.
There are many examples in the Scriptures that prove this myth wrong. Look at Moses, for example. The older he got, the more incredible his adventures with God became: going to Mount Sinai, seeing the burning bush, leading 3 million people through the Red Sea.
Dan. 11:32 says, “… But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”
Note that is says that those who “know” their God shall be strong and do great exploits. Maturity has to do with really knowing God. This is not a superficial knowing about God. It is knowing Him heart and soul, knowing His mind, how He thinks, and the way He does things. The closer you get to God, the more mature you get and the more exploits you will do. In other words, the more mature you get, the more wild things God will trust you with to impact this world. Do you want to do wild things? Do you want to live on the cutting edge? Do you want to be on the strategic front of what God is doing to absolutely change this world? Then you have to know Him, I mean really know Him. You have to grow, get mature, get strong. You have to dive into the deep things of God.
The dictionary says that to be mature is to be fully grown, fully developed. It means to be highly developed, perfected, and worked out, having reached maximum development, and being complete. The Greek definition of maturity refers to growth, mental and moral character, completeness. So many Christians walk around not fully grown. That is, they remain babies in Christ their whole lives, only half there. They are not complete Christians; they are surfacey Christians.
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishing
Ron Luce was the co-founder and president of Teen Mania Ministries from 1986-2015. Ron and his wife Katie dreamed to raise young people who would change the world.
Ron received his bachelor's degree in Psychology and Theology from Oral Roberts University and his master's in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tulsa, along with an honorary doctorate from Jerry Falwell of Liberty University. He is a sought-after speaker who has traveled to more than 60 countries and has made numerous media appearances, such as Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio broadcast, CNN, The O'Reilly Factor, ABC Nightline, The 700 Club, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and the Sean Hannity Show. Ron has also written 35 books for teens, youth pastors, and parents and continues to speak at leaders' conferences helping parents and pastors understand the plight of today's youth and showing them how all of us can be part of the solution.
Ron and Katie currently live in Garden Valley, Texas, with their son Cameron. They have two daughters, Hannah and Charity.