Blown About
Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. -Ephesians 4:14-16, NLT
You can know by the pumpkin spice everything, or the crisp chill in the air: fall has arrived! While there are tons of things I love about fall, one thing has a sort of love/hate relationship: leaves. I love the colors of leaves. I have fond memories of going to my grandparents’ house and raking leaves into a pile so that grandma and I could jump in them. But, as an adult, leaves mean WORK. Raking. Bagging. Blowing. Somehow, you have to deal with all those leaves. (Cool aside, the average elm tree has 6 MILLION leaves on it[i]; how big is our God?!)
It is striking to me that as we break out rakes and leaf blowers, Paul uses the idea of being blown about and tossed to and fro as an illustration of what happens to the immature Christian when under the influence of bad teaching. For a moment consider the contrast between a leaf attached to a tree and one which has let go. One has an anchor in even the strongest of winds. The other is moving about with the slightest breeze. The difference is attachment to the tree.
All of us start out as immature Christians. We also all live in a world full of “…lies so clever they sound like the truth.” Maybe now more than ever, as we have instant access to massive amounts of teaching and preaching, we have to be careful that we aren’t misled. So what is the antidote? In part, it’s community. We need connection to each other. We need the gifts and care that only the body of Christ can provide. A healthy church with mature and biblically sound leaders who speak the truth in love, this is the ideal greenhouse for growth to spiritual maturity. The growth that comes from such an environment connects us more deeply to Jesus. He is our anchor in the strongest gale.
For WEDnesday Discussion:
What is a teaching (or teacher) that you used to believe but now understand is false?
How did you come to realize the truth?
What are key activities for growing in maturity?
How do you know if you are growing in maturity in Christ? What are measuring tools for spiritual maturity?
Do you know your spiritual gifts?
How did you discover your gifts?
What flaws or short-comings might a “spiritual gifts test” have?
When/Where did you learn how to use your spiritual gift(s)?
Further Resources:
The Alliance position on Spiritual Gifts
A solid commentary on Ephesians 4:7-16
[i] Crazy Love, Francis Chan, pg. 27