Do you remember the TOTAL FAITH you had as a tiny child? The way you believed in God with the complete trust that only children have? Do you miss that faith? Jesus is calling you back.
There is satisfaction in maturity—in having the experience and wisdom to manage life’s challenges. But there is a risk—and it is a risk that touches college students as well. As we become better at “adulting” we become self-reliant—and with self-reliance comes PRIDE.
To put it another way, as soon as I think I have learned something, I cease to be teachable, and I STOP LEARNING.
But who would do that? I finally begin to master a skill, so I tell myself I am an expert and I stop listening to my teachers? No one would really do that, would they? YES. Everyone does it.
But then we begin to fail, and nothing teaches like failure. Who is the best golfer alive today? Tiger Woods. And he STILL TAKES LESSONS. He has learned the importance of being teachable.
But we read a little Bible, memorize two or three verses, and think we are spiritual giants, right?
And thus, the paradox of maturity: when we think we have learned, we cease to be teachable; when we think we have matured, we cease maturing.
“Unless you are changed and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. But whoever humbles himself like this little child, he will be greatest in the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:3-4.
True maturity is being childlike: knowing how much you DON’T know—it is being humble and teachable, realizing you have NOT arrived, you are NOT the expert.
True maturity means approaching scripture—and other Christians—with the humility and teachable nature of a small child.
Can you read God’s word and soak it up like a sponge? Do you still have the TOTAL FAITH that you remember from childhood? If not, why not?
God, help us humble ourselves and be as teachable as little children.
ΑΩ