The Best of the Portals of Prayer

Read Ephesians 4:13–15

“We are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ.”
Ephesians 4:15

A Mature Christian

A young girl said to her mother after a visitor had left their home: “If I could be like that old lady – so beautiful, sweet, and lovable – I wouldn’t mind growing old.” The wise mother answered: “If you want to be that kind of an old lady, you’d better begin right now. She doesn’t impress me as being a piece of work that was done in a hurry. It has taken a long time to make her what she is.” In these days when people flash to prominence overnight, and often-times fade into oblivion in a day, it is good for us to remember that this is not God’s way of developing fully Christ-centered lives. Christian maturity will never be achieved by a sudden rush into the lime-light. It comes only after a long climb up the rocky hill of life. A mature Christian is not lopsided. He is well developed, having “breadth” as well as “length,” “depth” as well as “height.” They are filled with the fullness of Christ and grounded in love. God takes time to develop such a Christian. Our Heavenly Father is not a God of shortcuts. He has a school, and His hours are long. His lessons are not easily learned. It takes many hours of meditation and prayer, many sessions at “Jesus’ feet,” a lifetime of tribulations and blessings, before we emerge as “mature Christians.” Such character is not the result of an overnight rally

January 07, 1949