No Longer Children

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Ephesians 4:14

If you wish to know whether you are growing or not, do not measure yourself by comparison with someone else. That will tell you nothing. Instead, ask yourself, Am I moving away from childish attitudes? Am I forsaking infantile behavior? Am I still governed by childish reactions and outbursts? The Scriptures often exhort us to be childlike, but never to be childish. These are two very different things! Childlikeness is that refreshing simplicity of faith which believes God and acts without questioning. But childishness is described here by the apostle as instability and naivete.

Children are notoriously fickle. Their attention spans are short. They are unstable, tossed to and fro, and carried about by every changing circumstance. This is the invariable mark of an immature believer in Christ. They may be either brand new in the faith or a longtime believer who is undeveloped. There are fads and fashions in the religious life, and immature Christians are forever riding the crest of some new fad. They are always running after the newest book or teacher, extolling them as the ultimate answer to spiritual need. This instability and short spiritual attention span are marks of immaturity. They do not seem to understand that the oldest book, the oldest teacher, is the most exciting of all: the Bible!

A second mark of childishness is to be undiscerning and naive. Have you ever noticed how children are often unaware of danger? They may play in dangerous situations and be totally unaware that anything is threatening them. In the same way, young Christians are often caught by by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming (Ephesians 4:14). This is an apt description of the many cultists, religious racketeers, charlatans, false prophets and teachers, and manipulative religious leaders who abound in our day. They trap many immature Christians with their teachings that sound so right and enticing.

One of the surest signs of immaturity is a confident, arrogant certainty, I'm established, I will never fall, I will never forsake the Lord or be deceived. It was childish immaturity in the faith that led Peter to say, just prior to the crucifixion, Lord, others may deny You, these other disciples of Yours may fall away, but there is one man You can count on, and that's me! But the Lord said, Thank you, Peter, but before the rooster crows twice you will have denied me three times (see Mark 14:29-30). That is how much Peter's well-intentioned zeal, rooted in spiritual immaturity, was worth!

Lord, protect me from arrogant certainty that I will never be deceived in my following you.