the Maturity of our relationship with the Lord

Today the events in our news were on my mind; devastating fires, crime . . . I felt my heart reach up to God in prayer. Though I thought that God’s heart would be filled with what my eyes saw, His answer focused on our relationship. He said “What kind of relationship do you want with Me?” He proceeded to teach me a valuable lesson about how a relationship matures. Does this seem to have anything at all to do with the news I was reading? Yes. Our heart is able to share with the Lord only as far as our relationship takes us. Though our Father carries grief over the many calamities that occur on the earth, He cannot partner with us in prayer if we are at the “small child” stage of our relationship. We must grow up into Him.
We are called in Jesus to be His Bride, an intimate partner, mature, and prepared. Sometimes we want to be a child, totally dependent on His provision for us. Yet, a mature person takes responsibility for others and their own needs also. He or she does not just seek God for him or herself, interested only in what can be gotten, or what God can do for him or her. We can see from Jesus’ parables that it is necessary to care for our brothers and sisters, for they are His body (see Mt 24:45-51 & 25:31-45). As a bride, maturity causes us to learn how to please our Groom, and how to do Him good (Prov 31:12). In a mature relationship conversation is valued because thereby is the heart of the Groom disclosed.
In contrast, immature Christians do not see that, like Abraham, God blesses them so that they can bless others. They keep their pockets empty and have little to provide for the needs of others. Someone has to take responsibility for them. Like a little child, they want to be carried even though they have two strong legs to walk on.
This is a season of maturity and those who avoid wisdom will not be trained by Her. They will not become exercised by eating meat, and so will miss the training that teaches them to discern between right and wrong. Though you try to teach them, they will not learn, because they want to be simple-minded and led by others, not using their God-given gifts to bring some into righteousness. The hallmark of an immature person is that he or she wants someone else to take responsibility for them and their faith.
Immaturity also is seen in a poor concept of time. To a child, time is his own, and he doesn’t hold himself accountable for what he does with it. To the mature Christian, we see that we must be doing the works we are ordained to do because He is coming to reward us for what we have done (Matt 16:27). Those who have used their time faithfully will go on to serve Christ in His power and glory. Those who do their own thing and squander the time given to them will not go on to serve the Lord, and will grieve in bitterness. Their promises will become like snares that catch other men unaware, who did not know that these immature Christians speak empty words which trap others in a timeless maze of slothfulness, not handling the kingdom’s business but squandering the precious time allotted for its accomplishment.
An example of the relationship of the Father with His children, and how that relationship grew in its requirements, can be seen in the wandering of the children of Israel through the wilderness. When the tribes of Israel wandered through the wilderness, they had many years of not knowing where to go and when to move. God taught them to trust Him in the wilderness. He was a pillar of fire at night so that they would know His presence was with them and to not be afraid. He was a cloud by day so that they would be sheltered from the hot sun, and know that He was with them. He led them as a father leads his child, showing them that they could trust His love for them when He closed the Red Sea on their enemies. He showed them His provision when He brought them water from the rock, and manna from heaven. He showed them His justice when He brought judgment on Korah during the rebellion, and when He struck down the grumblers who demanded meat. Never did He keep His nature a secret from them. He showed His children His forbearance when He kept their shoes from wearing out, even though He knew they would not enter the Promise Land. This was a time in which God led His people by holding their hand; the Father-relationship with the children of Israel.
This type of relationship in which time and responsibility had little meaning could not endure in the Promise Land. Once they got to the Promise Land, there was no pillar of fire, nor a cloud to shelter them there. The children needed to put on the maturity of faith. They had an inheritance to obtain and a time appointed in which to fight their enemies. In the Promise Land time, and what they were responsible to do in that time, became more important. After the time which was allotted to rid the land of their enemies was finished, there was no more time in which God fought for them (Josh 23:12-13).
The children of Israel had learned to trust God during their walk in the wilderness. He had held their hand and been patient with them while they were learning to walk. In the Promise Land the children needed to become adults. They needed to stand on those lessons already learned. So now, we must not think that every trial that comes our way is meant to teach them to trust God and be patient. We will find that being passive or waiting too long will bring bondage and we will be hindered by their enemies. This occurs whenever we do not take responsibility for the works God gives us to do. We then become like those tribes of Isreal who did not put on maturity in order to do the works necessary to obtain the promises of God. Amen.