https://odb.org/2024/09/05/grace-now
1 Corinthians 13:11-13
11 When 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. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
It is inevitable that we need to grow out of our childish ways and attain some maturity of faith. In the natural, we will grow up naturally in the body if we get to eat two to three meals a day, but nevertheless, we need to also grow up in terms of attitude and thought. For example, as we start to work and enter into a serious relationship with the person we love, we need to take more responsibility for our lives. We can not be reckless in our behaviour anymore. We need to think about marriage and plan on building a family in the future. That means that as difficult as it may be, we must start saving and begin thinking of the needs of our future spouse and children. Taking more responsibilities is part of growing up in maturity.
In our spiritual walk, we will, however, not grow naturally if we do not act on our faith. We may remain a child in the faith for a very long time if we only attend church but resist attempts by the Lord to transform us from within us. To grow spiritually, besides reading and living out His Word, we need to take steps of faith. We need to trust Him and respond to Him as the Holy Spirit prompts us. Our character as a person has to change. For example, from being selfish to selfless. From thinking only about our self interests to that of the interests of others too.
Recently, my missus made a big fuss when I threw away used empty toiletries like toothpaste and hairgel that have been in my elder son’s bathroom for the past few years. He has been living abroad since 2021. My mistake was not throwing the stuff away but mixing such items with other household waste like the dust from the vacuum cleaner and kitchen waste. The point is that when we throw away trash, we should think about the people who may pick them up later at the dumpsite and may want to use some of the stuff like the remnants of the old toothpaste tubes. Or some of our discarded stuff may be recycled and reused by others. For example, some people may repair the old shoes that we throw. So, don’t throw away shoes but remove the shoelaces! That will just make things more difficult for the trash pickers to reuse our old discarded shoes.
We need to change over time as we get to know God more. That includes having a little grace when others behave badly. Sometimes, we are fully justified to get angry, but perhaps we should just let it pass. There is no longer any need to repay evil with evil or more evil. If so, how are we different from the world? If we have been like that since time immemorial, we are still very much a child in Christ, aren’t we?
Ronnie's Thoughts 