Getting Things Tight (Part 3)
People go to church looking for God, but are having difficulty finding him. This one hurts, but in an age where perception is reality, you can’t ignore this criticism.
The scarcity of personal experience with God is disturbing. It would be easy to point at rock show churches and blame them, but the truth is that people in all kinds of experiences from liturgical to charismatic have left the church in search of God simply because they could not sense His presence in the building.
Some would disagree with me here, but I’m not sure leaving the church for an individualized, personal, or even home-based experience of church helps people any better. Although our consumer culture certainly applauds individually tailored experiences, what if the real scarcity is that we have lost a sense of what true maturity in a true experience with God is and the unchurched are sensing that?
How do we get this right today and develop a True identity with God?
I believe that seeking a new definition of spiritual maturity is a great place to start. It begins with these five things:
-Biblical knowledge is ultimately designed for application.
The kind of maturity that I think honors God most deeply is knowledge applied in love.
a. Our lives should be different.
b. Our marriages should be different.
c. Our parenting should be different.
d. Our love for our neighbors and community should be different.
e. Our confession and repentance should be deep and authentic.
e. Our transparency should be authentic and we should be radically committed to living out our faith.
-Humility.
A true Christian maturity has always been and will always be marked by humility.
-A servant’s heart.
True maturity comes in many things when your quest becomes about others, not yourself. Mature Christians live for Christ and live for others.
-A love for unchurched people.
The Apostle Paul was a mature Christian, and his obsession was for unchurched people. Eventually it got him killed. Real maturity is not a life lived in pursuit of self, but a life lived pursuing others and the lost
-A deep investment.
I do think one of the marks of mature faith is a deep investment in the Kingdom of God. Sometimes I wonder if you checked the giving records of people who complain most about being fed, and you will see scant evidence of a sacrificial investment in the Kingdom of God. Conversely, you will see many people deeply committed to quietly serving others who have a deep investment in the Kingdom. Think about that for a while.
I believe A clearer understanding of Christian maturity and experience could go a long way in better helping people connect with God.
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