The Responsibility of Maturity

The Spirit calls me this morning, as I look at where I am and ponder why all the craziness is pressing down on me. As gentle as a spring breeze blowing through the forest, the Spirit said,
"It is the responsibility of maturity to model My Son".

The words were not spoken as a challenge for me to buck-up and stop whining. Nor as an indictment of all my past failures and lessons taught over the course of my life. Today, the sweet voice of the Shepherd of my soul, gives me an answer, an explanation and a time to pause in humble gratitude for a new perspective.

True Vine-live is living and growing to produce more fruit, to the Glory of our Father in Heaven. As the years in the Vine pass, sometimes the growth is so subtle that we don't track the reality that we are maturing.

The pruning hurts; the cutting back and off of useless twigs that seem to just appear out of nowhere. That wrong attitude, that deceitful motive, that inappropriate response that grieves the Holy Spirit. Snip, snip, snip. We whine, we cry, we plead for relief, but the work by the hand of the "Tend-er" of our soul continues. John 15:1-2.

Looking back at where we have been and where we are today is the one way to chart our maturity. Looking back one day is not a long time to chart our growth, but looking back one year or one decade and things become clear. The process is agonizingly slow. The human heart and mind takes time to renovate and be renewed.

I am thankful that the One who calls me to "remain in Him" and the One who tells me that "apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5), is faithful to continue and complete the work He began in me so long ago. Phil 4:6

As we continue on our Journey with Jesus and growth in the Vine, can we see all the transformation in ourselves and our lives taking the shape of the Son of God? Can others see it in us?

Looking back, I can see it now, and I pray that you can too.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him