But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. – Hebrews 5:14

No parent wants their kid to stay stuck as a baby. They can’t wait to watch them take their first step, say their first word, and lose their first tooth. Yet imagine if you just stayed there; riding the highs of applause for baby steps. God doesn’t want us stuck in the baby stage spiritually either!

In the infant stage, some people are ignorant to what God’s Word says about how to live a life that pleases God. But in the maturing stage, people not only learn what the Bible teaches but they apply the Bible to their life.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; – Ephesians 4:14

Maturing people know better so they live better, and their life and habits look different than the world. You are growing as a disciple when your life starts looking different from the world.

1 Peter 1:14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. (NIV)

In the infant stage, some people are still trying to figure out good from evil. They’re tossed to and fro. But in the maturing stage, people are training themselves to distinguish good from evil. They study God’s Word on their own and they’re applying God’s Word to their life.

When people are in the maturing stage, they also start to recognize lies from the enemy they’ve believed that have held them back from God’s purpose. Maybe they’ve held onto the lie they can never do enough to earn God’s love, but the Word says:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9

Or maybe they believe that they can never be free from their past, but it says in John,

So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. – John 8:36

As they study God’s Word, they learn to reject and replace lies with the truth that God speaks over their life. By this, they deepen in maturity, trust, and faith in God.

• Mature people study God’s Word on their own.
• Mature people attend church faithfully.
• Mature people grow in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25).
• Mature people recognize their lifestyle should reflect God; not the world.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. – Galatians 5:22-25

God doesn’t want us to get stuck in the infant stage; He wants us to grow up! Reflect on today’s verses and ask God to help you enter the maturing stage.