2 Corinthians 10:12 (ESV) Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

Does growth in Christ indicate maturity? In the world we may well call someone immature by their actions and not their age. Conversely we might identify a youth as mature beyond his years. This is the essence of the opening passage, commending one another by comparing one another among ourselves.

I did an internet search for signs of Christian maturity and I discovered a wide variety of results about spiritual maturity. It would seem the internet equates Christian maturity with spiritual maturity. That was not my question and I did not receive a direct answer. Perhaps the best of those web search results was one man who said, “I am not mature and neither are you.” Those words were generated with an understanding that maturity is not attained until we are translated into the incorruptible form. That is one way to look at it but what does the bible say?

Matthew 13:8-9 (ESV) ”Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

The parable of the sower indicates that the quantity of production was no bearing on maturity, just that fruit has been produced. Our basic insecurities as humans tends to believe that effort produces results. If I have not produced enough fruit, I am not trying hard enough. That is a world view and Satan’s recipe for failure.

It may be that the internet provided a spiritual maturity answer and not a Christian maturity answer because the bible provides a list of spiritual fruits. That is something that can be measured.

My answer to what defines Christian mature is simple. God the Father determines maturity. Your relationship with Him matures. If He wants more of you, He will tell you. Don’t let me and anyone else replace His opinion with ours.