A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day January 3, 2019
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. (1 Corinthians 13:11)
It’s interesting that when Jesus talked about coming into the kingdom of God, He used the phrase born again (John 3:3). When Paul talked about new Christians, he called them babes and children (1 Corinthians 3:1; Galatians 4:19). In another place, Paul said that we should grow up spiritually and become mature (Ephesians 4:13-15).
I have often thought that the church would be unstoppable on this earth if the church was full of mature adult Christians. It’s sad, but there are adult Christians all over the world who are infants and children in their spiritual walk. I am very pleased that people are being born into the body of Christ. Nothing thrills me more than to see someone receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. However, we should know more now than what we knew six months ago. And six months from now, we should know more than we know now.
As Christians, we must grow up and mature. Children do things halfway and without understanding. When you tell a child to clean up their room, they may only do it if they get a big reward. Afterwards they don’t understand why it had to be cleaned up in the first place. That’s called immaturity.
A six-month-old child drinking from a bottle and wearing a diaper might be cute, but it would not look cute if you saw a forty-year-old doing it. We shouldn’t expect baby Christians to walk as elder saints. Who would put an army uniform on an infant and ship them off to war? They may look cute, but they wouldn’t survive. A fully grown adult should be able to care for and protect himself and not act as a child.
It is extremely important for newborn Christians to immediately sit under mature Bible-based, Spirit-filled teaching. As a mature Christian, your responsibility is to give proper food, training, and guidance to the younger ones. Together we are a growing family and we can accomplish God’s ministry on this earth.
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:12-14)
