That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. – Ephesians 4:14
Last week, when I was at my son’s house, I was laughing as his three young children were wrestling and running around the front room. My son walked in from the other room and raised his voice a little and said, “Quit acting like kids.” The oldest answered back to her father in an almost questioning voice, “But we are kids, Dad.” My son just smiled and said, “Okay,” and went on with what he was doing.
I am sure there will come a time, as it does with all parents, when my son will expect his children to act more grown up. Right now, the ten-year-old and the eight-year-old clean their own rooms and have other household chores. The two-year-old tags along and has no real chores. Eventually, however, he will be expected to start doing more. The older ones will also be given more responsibility, and will in time get jobs and support themselves. They are expected to do these things, and we would be disappointed if our children could never support themselves but always lived at home with Mom and Dad.
God expects the same sort of growth in us as we walk with Him on this earth.
When I was first saved, even though I was not a child by earthly standards, I was a child in God’s eyes and He treated me as such. As I look back on my Christian walk, I realize how protected I was at first. I noticed nothing bad about anyone: everyone was perfect. As time went on, I realized people were not perfect—especially me. Things bothered me that I knew should not. God let me know it was time to pray for my sanctification, and in a few months I received that experience. I rode along for a while after that, but then the Lord let me know I needed a burden for my baptism.
And it did not stop there. I have been saved for over twenty years now, and I can look back to almost any point along the way and see instances where God has spoken to me and said, “Time to move on and grow up a little” (see Hebrews 6:1). But God has done it all gently, and with a love that surpasses even the love of a father or mother.