While we don’t earn God’s love through good works or stay in His graces because of them, a life that has truly been changed will produce different fruit. In fact, Jesus Himself said, you will know a tree by its fruit (Lk. 6.44). The amount and quality of our fruit is often a good indication of our spiritual maturity. Today’s New Testament reading talks about some of that fruit. So, as you read, ask yourself, are you growing in Christ? Does the fruit of your life testify to a changed life? And if so, is it increasing?
Does salvation + time + knowledge = spiritual maturity? If not, where does it come from? From years of church membership? From learning how to use Bible software or getting 10 devotionals in your inbox? Does it come with a degree in theology? Or from attending Bible studies week after week? If not, what does it take?
James said God’s Word is like a mirror. What do we look for when we check our appearance in a mirror? Possibly to see what doesn’t look right, where we might have dirt on our faces or something else that isn’t how we want to look. What should we look for when we look into the mirror of God’s Word? Paul’s letter to the Colossians gives us some ideas. In fact, the chapter might be considered a checklist for Christian maturity. Why not take a look into the mirror of God’s Word and ask yourself, “Which of these characteristics describe me and which don’t?”
Philippians 1.6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
What a great promise! We can be confident, not in ourselves that we’ll somehow make it to the end, but if we belong to Him, He will finish the work He has started in us. God Himself is the guarantor of His promises.
