God brings us into relationship with Him with the hope of cultivating His nature in us. That’s why He lays hold of us—gripping our heart to save us from our sinful ways which separate us from His love. The challenge before us is pressing forward, allowing His Spirit to cultivate His life in us that we may come to a place of expressly being all He called us to be.
RELEVANCE
We define maturity in different ways. God defines it by coming into true union with His heart and mindset. That entails getting to know Him from a relational standpoint, and valuing what He values, and aspiring for ourselves the things He aspires for us.
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind” (Philippians 3:12-16).
Why has Jesus laid hold of you? What promises has He given you? Do you know your greater purposes in life? Life is a challenge. But pressing forward and pressing through obstacles is possible with God’s grace if you allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen you. We must embrace the word given to the children of Israel when they faced the huge challenge of restoring what had been lost during the Babylonian captivity. “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
REFLECT AND RELATE
What things behind you might you still be clutching onto?
What do you suspect God has for you as part of His upward call for you?
What might be the next point ahead for you regarding character growth?
REFERENCES
Exodus 6:6-8