Spiritual Maturity
By Joe Caruso · December 27, 2024
I remember bringing each of our children home from the hospital as babies. Knowing their little life was in our hands, the sense of responsibility was enormous. Yet there was something beautiful in that moment as well. Though our children were dependent on us for everything, we had the joy of nurturing them every step of the way.
But, as parents, we also knew we had to raise our children to learn to rely on themselves. As much as we loved nurturing them, we wanted them to become mature, independent adults who could meet the challenges of their future.
A similar progression takes place in our spiritual life as well. As new believers in Christ, we rely on God for everything. We need him to teach and nurture us into becoming the men and women he has designed us to be.
But as we spiritually mature, do we stop relying on God for our necessities? Does God, like earthly parents, raise his children to learn to rely on themselves instead of him? No, that would be absurd.
So, where is the disconnect? Why is it a proud moment for a parent to see their mature child living a life independent of them, while it would be inconceivable to be spiritually mature while living independent of God?
Perhaps the sign of spiritual maturity isn’t defined by how dependent we are on God, but rather by what it is, we’re dependent on God for. We will always depend on God, but as we mature in him, the things we trust God for should become deeper and of greater consequence.
A great example of this progression is found in the book of Joshua. It was the end of the Israelite’s forty-year journey in the wilderness. They are finally moving forward from the wilderness into the long-awaited Promised Land.
Before we can fully appreciate the magnitude of this moment, it’s important to look back at where the Israelite nation began. Several hundred years before this, God made a covenant with Abraham, that he would make his descendants into a great nation who would inherit the land of Canaan. Over the years, Abraham’s descendants increased but became slaves when they moved to Egypt to escape a famine.
After 430 years in Egypt, God raised up Moses to lead his people through the Red Sea and out of slavery. God’s people were free! However, they wandered in the wilderness for another forty years, due to their lack of faith and disobedience. During this time, God provided manna from heaven to feed the Israelites, while Moses instructed them on the laws they would follow to become a strong and Godly nation.
At 120 years of age, Moses died. But not before anointing Joshua as his successor. It would be Joshua who would lead the Israelites across the Jordon River, into the Promised Land.
The story continues in the book of Joshua, where God instructed Joshua to finally enter the new land promised to Abraham so many centuries before. A new generation of Israelites crossed the Jordan River on that day. The previous generation of disobedient men and women had all died in the wilderness.
God led the nation of Israel through the Jordan River on dry ground, just like Moses did at the Red Sea many years ago. The Bible says the hearts of the nations living in the land melted in fear, at the thought of this now mighty nation and their mighty God.
Once in the new land, Joshua instructed a representative from each tribe to build a memorial to remember how God parted the river so the Israelites could cross on dry ground. They celebrated Passover and began eating the natural produce from their new land the following day.
Then it happened! After forty years of God providing manna so the Israelites could survive in the wilderness, the Bible says that the manna stopped.
The Israelite nation was now on its own. That is to feed themselves at least. Though the Israelites would no longer rely on God for food from heaven, they would be entering a new chapter of relying on and trusting in God for much greater things. The Israelites would have to win battle after battle to gain the land the Lord promised them.
Though the Israelite people once depended on God to feed them, they would now rely on him to go ahead of them in battle. Sometimes God himself would do the heavy lifting and sometimes the Israelites would be trusted to do the work as God instructed.
Even today, as Christians we can never stop relying on God. As we mature in our faith, just like the Israelites, we must begin trusting God for greater things. We progress from Christians continually needing to be nurtured to becoming those who actively rely on God to live out his plan for our lives. As God’s children, we become more disciplined and trustworthy in our walk with him. We grow in our faith and believe in God for the impossible.
In the book of Hebrews, the author reminds the new Christians how important it is to be spiritually mature in their faith. They are strongly encouraged to progress from a reliance on basic teachings, to faithfully living out their relationship with God.
Wherever we are on our walk with God, he wants us to be moving forward. He is a patient God who will always give us what we need when we need it. But God also doesn’t want us to remain as infants in our faith. He has called us for a purpose. As we mature in our faith, we will begin to see what that purpose is more clearly.
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