Insightful Musings on theScriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, dear people.

Beautiful clear sky and sun out this window. This is the first morning since about May or June to have my space heater come on in my studio. It’s set at 68.

Becki and I managed to can 14 quarts of peaches last evening. There will be a few more once the rest of the peaches ripen up.

Lots to pursue again today—including a couple sign projects. I’d better get on it.

Have a blessed day. Love, Dad/Ray.

If a person is going to be born, infancy is unavoidable. Everyone accepts that as part of life—except, perhaps, those who are deceived to think they are mature when they are really immature. Indeed, all living things, by the Creator’s design, begin small and then grow—immature to mature—infancy to adult. In regards to human life, parents are not just concerned and responsible for the physical maturity of their children, but also for their psycho/spiritual maturity—at least they should be. Is it not a sad demonstration of all manner of perversity to observe a body of physical maturity, even beauty, that is governed by an immature mind (heart)? To be sure, God is far more concerned with the latter than the former, and should be our priority concern as well. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

It occurs to me that the FOCUS VERSE offers an accurate general description of how most people live who have not been BORN AGAIN—of how life works according to the default settings of the NATURAL SIN NATURE (Jeremiah 17:9). And even after the critical change of being BORN AGAIN, and becoming a spiritual infant, there is the risk of abnormal growth that can render a believer immature—at least impaired in their development and growth. That’s why we need the Word—“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk (“of the word”—KJV), so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3). And that’s why Paul identifies and lists the ministry gifts within the Body of Christ in the verses just preceding that are all aimed at developing and maturing the believers. “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's 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” (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Is it possible to be so immature as to settle for immaturity as a permanent lifestyle? However we answer that question, we can be sure that productive maturity is closest to God’s ideal. I am profoundly inspired by David’s description of the growing believer—“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted (and growing) by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:2-3).