Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

When you become a parent, you become keenly aware of the development process. The rate at which babies and children develop mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually is incredible to me as a new mom. Watching the wheels turn inside their little minds and watching them figure something out for the first time – there’s nothing like it!

And as amazing as it is, it also requires a great deal of patience and gentleness. I found myself saying over and over, “I can’t expect her to be anything but a 10-month-old!” … mostly when the temper tantrums started!

In this chapter, Paul is encouraging the believers in Corinth to grow into mature Christians. And, just like there are levels of maturity for babies, children, teenagers, and adults, there are levels of maturity for Christians. As Warren Wiersbe explains in his commentary, people are either saved or unsaved, and Christians are either mature or immature.

Now, let’s all get off our high horses for just a bit and realize we are all always maturing. A beauty of our pursuit after Jesus is the process of sanctification, which continues from the time we put our faith in Jesus (when we are saved) to when we are glorified with Him for eternity (when we die). We will have peaks and valleys within our faith journey, but as believers who want to look more and more like Jesus, we must continue to mature.

Paul helps us understand this reality in his letter to the Corinthians, where he strongly encourages them to grow up in their faith.

How do children eat versus adults? Children rely on milk and then grow their appetites over time. Adults are able to enjoy complex foods and meals.

How do children argue versus adults? Children have limited perspectives and selfish motives. Adults have a better ability to see the bigger picture, put things into context, and share with others.

How do children play? With very few rules that can change quickly. Adults, on the other hand, build things with more strategy and intentionality.

These growth transformations should be evident in our faith journeys and in our relationship with our local church.

• Mature believers are able to share with an abundance mentality, seeing, and valuing everyone’s unique and specific role/gift within the Kingdom.
• Mature believers work together for the sake of eternity.
• Mature believers build upon a foundation that is Christ (not themselves or the Church itself).
• Mature believers serving within mature churches build with the right motive – Christ being glorified above all else.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Do you feel like you have matured in your relationship with the Lord?
• What are the barriers to your spiritual maturity? Ask God to reveal those and give you the courage to move forward.
• Ask God to grow and mature your appetite for Him, His Word, and His work.

Family Devo: 1 Corinthians 3 

In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Paul is talking about how God is like a wise master builder. He laid a foundation and someone else is building on it. Have you ever tried to build a Lego house? The BEST way to build a Lego house is to start with a good foundation. With each brick, you lay the outline of what the house will look like when it’s finished. Carefully, you select your bricks and prepare them for the next layer. A solid foundation is really important! If you choose the wrong kind of brick, it could make the next layer of your Lego house less stable, and it could crumble. Or if you leave out a brick it might make the next layer weak.

Jesus is our foundation to build our lives. He is firm, steady, strong, and able to handle any weight (or difficulties) that come our way!

Building our lives is a lot like building a Lego house, we must choose carefully what materials we build with because they have to stand up for eternity (forever and ever).

Heart

What kind of “materials” are you building with? Materials we use to build our lives with aren’t Lego bricks really. This is the stuff we build our lives with, the people we hang out with, the activities we do, the words we speak, what we watch, and what we read and listen to. These are all important “materials” that make up our lives.

Are you speaking kind words to others & yourself, or mean words? Are you reading your bible, or are you only reading fun books? Are you serving others with your time, gifts, and talents, or are you serving only yourself?

Hands

Sharing your gifts with others is one good building block for your life! Encouraging others is another! There are so many good building blocks for life, and these are just a few.

Pray: God, thank You for the firm foundation that You gave us in Jesus. Help us to be careful of what materials we build our lives with. Please give us wisdom as we build our lives so that they will honor You.