Go On To Maturity

‘Let us go on instead and become mature.’ Hebrews 6:1 NLT

We all get the same 168 hours in our week. But if the only time you devote to your spiritual growth is the time you spend in church on Sunday morning, you’ll never move beyond spiritual infancy. Think about it. An infant can’t feed itself; it chooses chocolate over carrots; it constantly falls down and has to be picked up; it keeps wandering off and getting into trouble; it’s basically self-centred and needs to be disciplined and trained. Are you getting the picture? The new birth is exciting, but it’s supposed to be your launching pad, not your cot. The Bible says,?‘Let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding.’?Note the words:?‘Let us.’?That means it’s up to you! At some point you’ve got to say to yourself, ‘Starting today I’m going to do what it takes to grow up spiritually and discover God’s plan for my life.’

One day at the end of World War I, General Louis Lyautey asked his gardener to plant a particular type of tree on his estate. The gardener informed him that the tree, being unusually slow to grow, would take nearly a century to reach maturity. ‘In that case,’ the general replied, ‘there’s no time to lose. Plant it this afternoon!’ Here’s a fail-safe plan for growing into spiritual maturity:?‘They delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.’(Psalm 1:2–3 NLT)

长大成熟

“所以我们应当离开基督道理的开端、竭力进到完全的地步。” 希伯来书6:1

我们一周都有同样的168个小时。但是，如果你花在灵性成长上的时间只有你每星期天早上去教会做礼拜的时间，你就永远也不会离开灵性婴儿期。想想看：婴儿不能喂养自己；它会选择巧克力而不是胡萝卜；它会不断跌倒，必须被人扶起来；它总是走着走着，就陷入麻烦中；它基本上是自我为中心，需要受到管教和训练。你明白吗？新生命确实是令人兴奋的，但它应该是你成长的开始，而不是你止步不前的婴儿床。圣经说：“所以我们应当离开基督道理的开端、竭力进到完全的地步。” 注意其中的表达：“我们应当……” 意思就是说，那就看你的了！在某个时刻，你必须对自己说，“从今天开始，我要做一些能够帮助我灵性成长的事情，发现神对我生活的计划。”

第一次世界大战结束后的一天，路易斯·吕瓦泰将军请他的园丁在他的庄园里种上一种特殊的树。园丁告诉他，这种树长得特别慢，要将近一个世纪才能长成。将军回答说：“既然这样，那就不要再浪费时间了，下午就把它种上吧！” 下面是灵性成熟的万无一失的计划：惟喜爱耶和华的律法、昼夜思想……他要像一棵树栽在溪水旁、按时候结果子、叶子也不枯干．凡他所作的、尽都顺利。（诗篇1:2–3）