Friday, March 05, 2010

"Are we Spiritually Mature?" (Galatians 5:16-26)

1. Questions and more questions

· Are we becoming spiritually mature?
· Are we getting anywhere in our Christian life?
· Are we growing closer to God?
· Are we really undergoing a transformation?
· Are we reaching the potential God has put in us?
· Are we making a difference for good?

These are all good questions, and ones that should be regularly asked.

· But how can we measure this?
· How can we fairly assess how we are going here?

More good questions!

But first, an answer to this question: what does it mean to be ‘mature’?

I’m now thinking of the tree on our nature-strip. Until recently it had a stake on either side with those bands that try to keep the tree safe from the wind and guide it to grow straight. Previously when those bands broke away, I’ve had to replace them with stockings, seeing that the tree was still not ready to survive on its own. Recently though, the Sanctuary Lakes gardening patrol elected to take away those poles and bands! They judged that the tree was now ready or mature enough to stand on its own (even though it didn’t look to be the strongest or straightest tree in the street).

But the proof would surely come when the wind started to blow. So far so good with our tree, but the jury will still be out for a while as to whether it will stand up to all what nature brings to it! So from this analogy, we might draw a definition of being mature, as ‘being ready and enabled to cope well with all of what life throws at you’. The ‘enabling’ of my nature-strip tree was done by those gardeners who have nurtured it well to this point, from where it should now be able to stand in its own right.

The Oxford Dictionary defines being ‘mature’ as: “complete in natural development, ripe, with fully developed powers of body and mind, adult, duly careful”.

Moving this into the spiritual realm you might say to be ‘mature’ means to be: taking responsibility for one’s actions and thoughts, making good decisions, displaying emotional stability, whilst trusting firmly in God.

From some of my reading in this area, other descriptions of ‘spiritual maturity’ might be:
· really enjoying God;
· having a calm assurance, or feeling ‘easy in ourselves’;
· seeing ourselves as sacred and valuable – a person in whom Jesus dwells; and even,
· having a sense of the life of heaven now.

Back now to that question of measuring ‘spiritual maturity’!
How can we assess this?

Here are some reflective questions we could ask ourselves to start with!

· How do I react under pressure?
· How do I treat or interact with others, especially in challenging situations?
· Where does my first allegiance or highest priority really lie?
· What sort of example do I provide in my everyday living?

And in regard to last week’s message …

(v) Am I sharing my gifts with the others in the church?

These sorts of self-inventory questions also demonstrate that you can’t assess ‘spiritual maturity’ in isolation – ‘spiritual maturity’ can only be properly evaluated in community. We need others to help us see who (and whose) we really are. Our faults, as well as our various positive features, are experienced and exposed in community. This is what Paul highlighted when he wrote to the various church groups around Galatia (especially in chapter 5).

2. Text and Context

The context for the latter part of this chapter, is living (and walking) in the “spirit” (refer verse 16). Paul sees that the Holy Spirit can so deeply influence or invade the human spirit that the two become one, where we are intimately guided through life by a force much bigger and better than ourselves. This will result in all acts of selfishness and immorality being dispensed with (for such things are completely inconsistent with the Spirit-led life).

Later verse 24 describes this process as having ‘crucified the flesh’, meaning that all negative and destructive activity has been put to death and erased from one’s life agenda. “Once that ‘death’ has been undergone, the only possible direction is forward into the new life of the Spirit” (Osiek). Dealing with a ‘worldly’ nature should be seen as a decisive act – once-and-for-all – what has been nailed to the cross of Jesus and crucified must be left there, with any subsequent setbacks dealt with immediately through repentance and applying God’s forgiveness.

This in itself would be a fair sign of ‘spiritual maturity’, where we are not ‘spiritual’ one moment and then ‘fleshly’ or ‘worldly’ another moment, but we have grown toward a consistent Godliness (that is not switched on and switched off at a whim). The purpose of Godly “spirit” on one hand, and the acts of ‘worldly flesh’ on the other, are diametrically opposed to one another and shouldn’t be allowed to cohabit together. Trying to have a foot in each camp will always be an uncomfortable and self-defeating existence.

Paul goes on to highlight the very big differences there are between the behaviour of the selfish life that is not connected to God, as against the characteristics of a life that has been dedicated to and renewed by God. We see the comparison of verses 19-21 as against verses 22-23. These lists are seen to be complete opposites. One is sourced from the beaten self, the other is sourced from the victorious Christ. One is the path of destruction, while the other is the path of eternal life. One is the way of hurting others, while the other is the path of true service. One list leads to community disintegration, while the other list contains the fabric of good community life.

As Carolyn Osiek comments: “If the catalogue of vices supplies the overall example of what not to be, the catalogue of virtues builds the monument to the ideal Christian, the one in whom the Spirit is allowed free reign”. Part of our process of Christian discipleship is to less and less hurt others, while more and more helping others. And so, a further question of self-inventory re ‘spiritual maturity’ would be:

· Are we growing the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ on our tree?

3. The Fruit of the Spirit (v.22-23)

Now I even used the plural ‘fruits’ here, but of course the text has “fruit” in the singular. So this is very different from the 23 ‘spiritual gifts’ that we looked at last week, where we would have one or two or maybe even a few of the gifts, but never all of them. We only experience all of the gifts as we minister together. The “fruit of the Spirit” comes as a collective package to each of us.

Thus we wouldn’t just be expected to produce one or two fruit out of this good list, but rather all of them. The best analogy might be the orange or the mandarin, which is a whole in itself, but can be broken up into segments. There are nine segments to the one “fruit” here that all need to be addressed. We might be better in one area or segment than another, but there is no room to just specialise in one. These individual virtues are all part of one very beautiful mosaic, perhaps like when many little individual tiles are cemented together to form a very surprising and impacting picture.

So, let’s give ourselves a mark out of ten on each of the nine listed fruit!

A piece of fruit is the result of a healthily growing tree, which has been fed, watered and maintained effectively and regularly. And so, if our mark is a little low, then we may have to look at the effectiveness of our watering and care program for our tree. And first and foremost we would have to look at our level of connectedness to the source of the tree’s very life.

The origin of all these virtues is of course God through his Holy Spirit, and so each can be best understood as components of God’s own character. Such positive character traits were also modelled by Jesus in his life and ministry. These virtues exist within the relational functioning of the Divine Trinity, and are also best witnessed in the relational connections between people.

· Love – this requires an understanding that love is the greatest motivating factor of God and God’s kingdom … not judgement, not conformity, not organisational maintenance, not even perfect theology … but love, love expressed in relational acceptance. This love develops as we learn to love all those that God loves, even the unlovely, and even those closest to us (who have had more chance to upset us). We develop that ethic of naturally loving people (and other elements of God’s creation as well). This becomes possible as we come to appreciate how much God loves us, and the lengths God has gone to offer us a warm and re-creative relationship with our Creator.

Score out of 10.

· Joy – this is a satisfaction with life even through its biggest challenges and problems; which leads to a chin-up, bright-eyed, smiling countenance; all through a sure knowledge that God resides with you. This joy is expressed through worship, prayer, and a desire to broadly witness to one’s faith in Jesus. Joy is much deeper and more grounded in hope than just passing happiness. Whereas happiness is a responsive feeling, joy is more of a deliberate attitude.

Score out of 10.

· Peace – this is a sense of contentment that one’s life is safe in the hands of God; which can only really come though receiving the gift of forgiveness offered in Jesus. We can breathe and sleep more easily knowing that we are in harmony with God. This peace is expressed by being a reconciler and peace-maker within all the relationships encountered in life – in the home, between neighbours, in the church; rather than adding to or ignoring conflict, the ‘fruit’ of peace should lead to more harmonious functioning.

Score out of 10.

· Patience – this is a realisation that often, because of vast complexity, things take longer than you would prefer to be the case, and also an acceptance of such delays (especially in terms of answers to prayer). This patience is expressed in tolerance for other people’s situations and the great diversity of personalities we have to deal with; understanding that all people are really works in progress. Patience will be developed through trusting God more, and reminding ourselves how God has been faithful to us in the past.

Score out of 10.

· Kindness – this is a readiness to make gestures that will uplift and encourage others. This kindness is expressed in simple offers of help. The good habit of kindness will become more natural as it is increasingly practiced. Kindness develops as the focus comes off ourself or more selfish intent and toward God’s bigger picture and the needs of others.

Score out of 10.

· Generosity – this is an appreciation that all the good things we have originate in God’s kindness, and that these blessings should ultimately be shared; understanding that there is great need and neglect in the world. This generosity is expressed in sharing or giving away things or resources that other people need more. There is a perhaps a sense here of the tendency to give first, and weigh up the cost later.

Score out of 10.

· Faithfulness – this is a commitment to being true to whatever undertakings or promises we have made, including those to family members and to God. This is where our character and behaviour can be described as trustworthy and reliable. This faithfulness will be recognised through the way we fulfil our responsibilities in the home, the workplace, the community, and the church. This level of faithfulness to others is based on and motivated by God’s thorough faithfulness toward us.

Score out of 10.

· Gentleness – this is about keeping our personal emotions like frustration and anger in check, and being able to respond to situations with a calm mind. This is about being able to deal with offences against us without striking back. This is about being open to God’s Spirit dealing with our problems and issues in a way that transforms our temperament and outlook. Gentleness will be developed through humility; and through being open to learn and being teachable, rather than thinking we have all the answers. Gentleness is not weakness, for it is seen in the one who has a natural heart for the underdog and who stands against injustice. The ‘fruit’ of gentleness allows us to identify hurting or needy people, and involves the strength to lift someone out of a situation of despair or danger. Expressing our gentleness will lead to any required correction of another to be done in love and encouragement, rather than in anger and criticism. Gentleness overrides the critical spirit. And first and foremost, gentleness lets us see the log in our own eye before examining the splinter in someone else’s eye.

Score out of 10.

· Self-control – this is a discipline that precludes us from doing anything that will turn out to be destructive. This is really God-control (through the Holy Spirit) as opposed to an ‘anything goes’ attitude! This is being focussed on doing the right thing 24/7. Self-control develops as we recognise our human limitations and admit our dependence on God for right living. Our increasing level of self-control will be evidenced when our own desires are easily given second place to the greater good or to the needs of others.

Score out of 10.

Later, in a private moment, you may like to ask others how they would have scored you, or perhaps responded differently here and there.

· Now what if you have scored yourself way lower than you would like?

What about Prayer, Studying Jesus (who exhibited all this fruit par excellence), getting a Mentor, or joining a Small Group?

4. Surpassing any law (v.18, 23)

Laws, whether they are the religious laws of old, or the civil laws of modern day, are brought in to try to restrain evil and anti-social behaviour, and give people a framework in which to exist in harmony together. However people who live with this ‘fruit’ evident and abundant in their lives, will find themselves surpassing any law, and no just charges could ever be laid against them. Such fruit require no restraint from any law. For surely these are the attributes that any good law is trying to promote!

The person who is fully walking in the “Spirit” will have no judgement to worry about, for they have connected with the heart of God and are living out the life of Jesus. Whereas we still live our lives in the context of human civil law, and rightly concede to the just claims of that law, followers of Jesus surpass such law by developing the quality of lifestyle that in effect makes this law irrelevant.