Not Grown Up Yet

"When I was a child I thought and reasoned like a child, but when I grew up, I gave up childish ways. Likewise, at present we see dimly as in a faulty mirror, but then we shall see face to face." - 1st Corinthians 13:11-12

I find myself telling my little brothers phrases like, "when I was your age…" or "you'll understand when you get older," things my parents used to tell me and I never believed them until now. When we're younger, we think we know it all, until we get older and realize how foolish we were. It's the same thing with God. Sometimes I sit in my room and whine to myself about praying (do I haaaave to??) or get upset when I don't understand something God does. Just as I was childish and impatient when I was a little girl, I am childish now in my spiritual life. We are all childish in this sense because none of us have reached a spiritual maturity which surrenders to and obeys God's will perfectly. In the meantime, we are like whiny little children who unreasonably complain about things that don't seem fair to us, who get mad when we don't get the toy we want and get jealous when someone else has it.

We outgrew our human childhood (most of us, I hope), let's work on developing our spiritual maturity so we can reason like adults and accept God's perfect will in our lives. One day, as Paul says here in his letters to the Corinthians, we will be face to face with God Himself and all will be made known to us. We will understand everything instantly and then we will be able to look back at our lives and how little we know now.

Today's Prayer:
Father, I ask that You take me by the hand and lead me. I know I whine and complain, but please have mercy on me. Show me how to speak and walk. Guide me in all of my steps until that day when I grow up and am able to understand it all. Most importantly, give me patience to take all the baby steps I need to make. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

The New Self

"You must give up your former way of living, the old self, whose deceitful desires bring self-destruction. Renew yourselves spiritually, from inside, and put on the new self, or self according to God, which is created in true righteousness and holiness." - Ephesians 4:22-24

I bet you're waiting for a miracle in your life. You're waiting for God to speak to you in an amazing way or an angel to appear to you, touch you and instantly you're a saint, and you go around doing good to all you meet. You expect to be touched and instantly be converted, love going to church each week and reading the bible. That happens to about 1% of people, the rest have to keep trying to put on the new self.

I'm reading a really great book right now called An Invitation to a Journey, a roadmap for spiritual formation. It talks about how being spiritual is a hot thing right now. Madonna is rocking her red string bracelet and Tom Cruise is an ambassador for Scientology. We think we can get spirituality quickly and if nothing happens when we pray, God isn't in that religion so we try another. That isn't the way to true spirituality. True spirituality is a process which usually takes our whole lives to fulfill. It is the process of becoming more like God and if we really take a good look at ourselves, that is going to take a lot of time! Whether you see it right now or not, we are all on this journey. Every day we make decisions that either make us more self-centered, lonely people, spreading the shallowness of this world, or every day we take a step closer in trying to brighten someone's day or lending a hand to a friend or stranger in need. This is what Paul means by doing away with the old self - the part of us that tends towards self-destruction. Instead, we need to strive to put on the new self, using each and every day as a vehicle of light and not darkness. And if you think it's not that serious, think again… each day you live reaffirms either the good or bad in your life.

Your decision to use your journey is one that you need to make every day. There really are only two paths in life and your intentions in your decision making make all the difference as to which path you're walking. Each day is a brand new day in the journey of your spirituality, and if you choose to be light instead of darkness, every day you will be a little more like God. Remember, not even God created the world in a day, so don't expect a conversion overnight.


Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to each day leave my old self behind and be more like You. Remind me that my life is a journey and that one step back doesn't necessarily mean I am lost or a bad person. Help me learn from my mistakes to build my new self and actively choose to be light of the world each day. In Your Name we pray, amen.