“Waaaaa. I’m Not Getting Fed” (Part 4(a))

So I’m doing the greatest blog series in the history of the world. The series is on what pastors hear so often, “I’m not getting fed.” Last time I asked: “Who says this?” and answered, “Thumb-sucking babies and pampered, pouting lazy Christians.” Today I have one more answer: Christians who miss the point.

What do I mean? Some people misunderstand “spiritual maturity.”

What do you think are the signs of a person who is truly spiritually mature? This is something I’ve studied and thought about a lot, and here’s what I’ve come to. The three greatest signs of spiritual maturity are: (1) Intimacy with God, (2) Obedience to God, (3) Serving other people. The way we’d say that at Forefront is, “Love God, Love People.” Jesus said that all the commandments hang on this. Loving God is a relational thing and leads to intimacy with Him. (So it’s sharing His heart, and sharing my heart with Him.) Jesus also taught us that to love God is to obey His commands. (So one way to measure spiritual maturity is how quickly you obey God.) Jesus also said He came to serve and we’re to follow His example. (So getting past self-centeredness and learning to put others before ourselves is what we’re after.)

We could argue about this (I guess that’s what the comment section is for) but I’m sticking with my answer, because it’s what I’ve found in the Bible.

Unfortunately, this is NOT EVEN CLOSE to the definition most American Christians have for spiritual maturity. How do they define it? I’ll tell you later today. Until then, I’ll give you $5 if you can get yourself on Cops.

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