No More Prolonged Infancies

No More Prolonged Infancies

What does it really look like to grow up in Christ?

Sometimes a familiar passage of Scripture becomes so familiar that we read the words without feeling their full impact. That is one reason I chose The Message paraphrase of Ephesians 4 and 5 for this seven-day devotional. Its fresh, conversational language caused me to hear Paul’s familiar instructions with fresh ears.

Suddenly, “No prolonged infancies among us, please” made me stop and think.

Paul is writing to people who have already experienced the marvelous grace of God. Earlier in Ephesians, he tells us that God is “rich in mercy.” God loved us. God made us alive with Christ. God saved us by grace. God brought us near and made us His own.

That is God’s part—and we could never do it for ourselves.

But then Paul turns a corner. Because God has given us this new life, how should we live it?

That is where Ephesians 4 and 5 become wonderfully practical.

Leave the old life behind. Grow up. Tell the truth. Deal with anger. Use words that build people up. Forgive. Walk in love. Walk in the light. Use your time wisely. Be filled with the Spirit. Let your relationship with Christ change the way you treat the people around you.

We do none of these things to earn our salvation. We do them because God, in His mercy, has already given us a new life.

Grace is God's gift.

Growth is our grateful response.

Over these seven days, The Message will help us hear Paul’s instructions in language that is sometimes surprising, sometimes humorous, and often wonderfully direct. My prayer is that its fresh wording will give us a fresh perspective on an important question:

If God has done everything necessary to give me new life in Christ, how am I responding to that gift?

God never intended for His children to remain spiritual babies.

Grace gives birth. Gratitude gets us walking. The Spirit grows us toward maturity in Christ.