Growing in Maturity

To me, one of my favorite aspects of volunteering with the youth students at church is watching them mature.

When the sixth graders start in our class, they seem so…well…there’s really not another way to put it…immature.

But as they grow and develop, usually by the time they are in high school, they seem different somehow. The initiate more serious conversations. And it just hits me all of a sudden – this student has really matured.

I’m not sure we ever fully “mature” on this earth. I may be able to “adult” with the best of them, but I still have some really immature attitudes and actions pop up.

James 1:2-4 says “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

Look at those verses in reverse order. Our end goal is to become mature. Maturity comes through endurance. Okay – that makes sense. But endurance comes from trials – and that’s something we all do our best to avoid!

Since we live in a sinful, fallen world, difficult situations and days are certain to come. But how we face them directly determines how we mature. As you face your next trial, do your best to shift your way of thinking about it to match James – view it as an opportunity to rely on God in a new way and grow in maturity.