Part 2 Will The Real Matue Christian Please Stand Up

Christian Maturity is beautiful in the Kingdom of God. Today is a continuation of standing F.I.R.M. in spite of F.U.D. in the world.

F: Flexible, I: Innovative R: Robust M: Maturity in saints trumps F:Fear U: Uncertainty D: Doubt of the world.

Here are the links for the former posts connected with this series:

1. Flexible Saints Make it Through The Storms



2. Innovative Saints Thrive



3. F.I.R.M. in God - Robust Christians
   

Yesterday I fell off the "maturity" wagon for a moment. I am selling the last of my late husband John's "toys." He had a boat that he loved relaxing on. I've dropped the price to bare bottom and I have several buyers. I had one man who decided he wanted it at my price. Then he started "dickering" on specifics.

Suddenly I got dogmatic and insistent on my situation and the absurdity of his wrangling. This occurred on the phone but I could hear his dismay of my change in attitude. I think I felt victimized and in a moment I was every woman alone at disadvantage wheeling and dealing with a savvy man.

Absurd!!! Afterward I prayed for help in what was happening in me. Sadly I realized I gave in to all my feelings of grief, pain, fear and frustration. I was not interacting as a strong confident mature Christian.

I shared this with a friend who helped me think of a better way to handle something like this in the future. She recalled a parenting seminar she attended years ago. The instructor told them to think of a highway patrolman when he pulls you over for a traffic violation. He is calm, unemotional and sticks to the facts. She said that helped her when her children had broken the rules. With this visual she could stay calm and stick to the facts as she "issued" their punishment. She quit reverting to yelling matches. This held true no matter what antics her children tried.

I believe this visual of a calm patrolman , backed by the authority of the highway department, can help me walk more calmly in life. I have the Kingdom of God backing me up. As long as I seek God's guidance no one (slick wheeler dealer or worse) can pull one over me. I need to emulate the good cop's demeanor.

Today I am setting up the "stage" to "spotlight" each of your great comments of spiritual maturity that you generously posted yesterday. You've impressed me in agreeing with the Bible that: Our progress in maturity can be measured by the degree to which we accept the truth about ourselves and others in love.

Healing and growth come by understanding that we no longer need to make ourselves perfect by our own efforts in order to be accepted and loved by God.

We are now free to be our true selves, without pretense, without having to hide or defend ourselves. Just like my stiffening with attitude with my boat negotiation I do not need to feel condemned or shamed in my imperfection. I'm still committed to growth and change. I'm wanting to be all growed up as my little girl said it decades ago. God is call us to giving up ego-saving techniques which the world commonly employs.

Our goal, and the goal of the church, must be the same as that of God, as expressed by Paul in Ephesians 4: The goal is maturity.to see all the daily circumstances of our lives as God sees them, in God's perspective.

Comment on the comments: Check back on yesterday's comments and be blessed by the profound insights of those who left their wisdom on spiritual maturity.

There is still time to leave another great thought on what it means to truly be spiritually mature: add your comment.