Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Growth in a natural sense means outgrowing your old shoes. It is obvious when we are younger. We stand as tall as we can against the door jam where mom or dad marks our growth. We even see if we are taller than our siblings at that age. We cannot wait to grow up. Leaving things behind doesn’t even enter into our minds. We see them as child’s play.
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
When I was a man, I spoke as a man, I understood as a man, I thought as a man, but when I became a Christian, I put away manly things.
When I was a Christian, I spoke as a Christian, I understood as a Christian, I thought as a Christian, but when I became disciple of Christ I put away christianese things.
I am a disciple and I speak as a disciple, I understand as a disciple, I think as a disciple and when I am perfected I will be with Christ, I will have left this life behind.
Philippians 3:13-15 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Letting go of things is a sign of growth.
I loved your 4 stages of progression…. and it all ends in the presence of Jesus. I see Him as the “prize of the high calling of God”. Wow, what a prize!!! “Face to face with Christ my Saviour, face to face, what will it be. When with rapture I behold Him, Jesus Christ Who died for me”! Just couldn’t resist quoting that precious hymn. Thanks for the privilege.
“I left behind childish things”, but yet how often do we go back to things of the past? It can be a man trying to play sports of his youth (and usually hurting himself), someone stuck constantly reminiscing about the “good ‘ole days”, or a destructive habit coming back once again.
That is exactly right Jack. Not that playing sports is bad, but the motivation of the heart being key. Even the mind is not always aware of what lays beneath. The hardest of those things to leave behind might be the need to be right.
Jack, your comments are right on target for me. At my age, especially , the reminiscing about” the good ole days ” is something that I have to fight constantly, and the older I get, it doesn’t seem that the battle lets up. Thanks for your input.