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Mature

             He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:28)

This goes along nicely with my post from two days ago, about the Great Commission. As I note then, we tend to put the emphasis on fthe wrong place. Salvation is not the goal. Salvation is a necessary step toward the goal. In some cases, as with the thief on the cross, there is no time for anything more, but as Paul pointed out to the Colossians, the goal is our/their maturity in Christ. In other words, our goal and theirs is to be like Christ.

As I said the other day, it’s not that we should neglect evangelism, but that we keep in mind that it’s the beginning, not the end, and developing that maturity needs to be pursued more than it tends to be in churches. The idea that we can hand evangelism or spiritual reformation (the process leading to maturity) to the person or to some professional who spends 30 minutes once per week lecturing/preaching is ridiculous.

And the foundation and goal of spiritual formation is God. It’s not really so much that we would become “like God” in terms of power, but like Him in terms of character. It’s only when we have a character like God’s that He can entrust us with great power. One of the key elements in that character is a willingness to give up power and control.

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