Putting Away Childish Things
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. I Corinthians 13:11 (New Living Translation, NLT)
There is no question that this verse is included in the love chapter (I Corinthians 13) for a reason. No matter how long we’ve been saved, so many of us find ourselves regressing into childish behavior on a daily basis- myself included. What would we consider childish behavior? What are those behaviors we would associate with immaturity in the faith?
Childish things would incude things like envy, rage, malice, gossip, lack of discipline, and so forth. As we walk with the Lord, we are to grow and mature in these areas and turn away from the things that were an issue for us when we first got saved. The problem is that often we don’t do what is needed to grow and develop and put these things behind us. The result is that many in the church are baby Christians and walk in the flesh more than they walk in the Spirit. We fail to operate in the love and power of God. This hinders us all in attaining our God-ordained destiny.
The remedy is quite simple. We must spend daily time with the Lord. And it needs to be quality time, not just a quick prayer asking Him to bless us and our family and give us what we need. While we are to ask Him for what we want and need, it is incredibly important to spend time with Him just to be with Him. His presence in our lives makes all the difference. We become like those that we spend time with. Time with God can include daily Bible reading and study, prayer, worship, and just sitting in His presence to soak in His peace and glory. Praying in the Spirit is also a great way to spend time with God because we pray and praise Him perfectly when we do it in tongues.
What a big difference a daily appointment with the Lord can make in how we think, act, and live. It transforms us from being immature babies into full grown Christians that He can use. It makes it easy for us to exhibit the traits found in I Corinthians 13 and to walk in the agape love of God.
