Until just recently, I drove a 1999 Ford Explorer with 189K miles on it. It was really a miracle car that helped us get through the first 3 1/2 years of church planting without a car payment. I say miracle because it had many things in need of repair and yet it kept on rolling down the road every day. But anytime someone new would get behind the wheel, I would have to explain to them that the gear shift was off by one letter. When it said “D” for drive it was really in neutral. It was kind of funny to watch people get in and drop it in “D” and go nowhere.
In Ephesians 4:14-15 Paul talks to us as believers about growing up in our spiritual maturity. Here’s what he says: 14 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. 15 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.
Okay, here’s the not-so-funny thing about growing up in our faith: Sometimes we think we are in DRIVE but we are really in NEUTRAL. The true test of spiritual growth and maturity is demonstrated not by what we believe but by our behavior. Let me break that down: Our beliefs may be in DRIVE but our behavior is in NEUTRAL. Over the many years of coaching and leading people in their journey of faith, I have observed that some people simply want to coast in neutral because it’s less challenging.
Hey, can I challenge you today to make sure your are really in DRIVE in your spiritual growth? Look at your habits, attitudes, words, and actions. Are you growing more and more like Jesus? Or are you just coasting? Remember, maturity is critical to your journey of faith, so shift gears and get growing.
