Maturity isn’t gained from pages on a calendar but rather the joy of achievement and the tears of painful experience.
Nobody enjoys pain. Well, actually, I’ve heard of some people that do, but I hope I never meet them.
There is quite often a direct relationship between pain and lessons learned. In fact, as crazy as it is, that’s how we learn our most beneficial lessons.
When we were young, our parents used discipline to train us. Was that because they wanted to inflict pain on us? Of course not… their actions were out of love.
And what did we get out of it? We changed. If we didn’t, we’d get disciplined again. In my case, that happened a lot.
God disciplines us to become more like his son Jesus because his perfect plan for us is made complete by our own holiness.
Regarding “maturity”, as we gain experience, we become more wise. We think before we do things that produce unwanted results. We care more about other people. As we mature, our diet of God’s word grows, away from dependence on spiritual milk and into the glory of the fullness of His message.
Pray for maturity. The wonderful news is that the very act of praying for maturity makes you more mature. It doesn’t get any more easy than that!
Hebrews 12 : 7 – 11
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.