Spiritual Maturity: Focusing on the Roots, not on the Fruits

Our generation today defines success in terms of our net worth, the number of cars we have, and our title or position. But more than success, Pastor Carlo talked about the most critical concern we need to address, our spiritual maturity.

Are we deeply rooted in His Word? Is the Word of God the foundation of our lives?

To further assess ourselves, here are the three great enemies of the soul:

1. Fallacy of pride in our pursuits.
"As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up." (Matthew 13:4)

What causes the hardness of our hearts is pride which results to unbelief. Sometimes, we think the word is difficult to understand, but it is the hardness of our hearts that makes us fail to understand His word.

2. Forgetting God in our pain.
"The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.(Matthew 13:20-21)

Sometimes, it is not the sun that causes the plants to wither away, it is the lack of root. When we experience pain, sometimes we automatically come to God not because we are deeply rooted, but we want instant solution. In our pain, may we come to God not for the solution, but to surrender.

3. Forsaking our values in pleasure.
"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." (Matthew 13:22)

When the pleasures of life knock, do we easily abandon our values and convictions in life? Do we forsake God for our pleasure?

How do we respond in our pain and pleasure? The way we respond to them reveals the foundation of our lives. Let us go back to these questions: Are you deeply rooted in His Word? Is the Word of God the foundation of your life?

There may be times when we do not understand His Word, but what God wants from us is to keep on doing and doing it until we have an understanding. Understanding is not just about comprehension, it is about the willingness of our hearts to obey His Word.

May we keep on growing deep in His Word until it bears fruit in our lives. May we encounter God every time we do our quiet time.