Awww Grow Up!

Silly title, serious post. I created the painting to the left during a fit of inspiration while still in college. I was in the throes of some serious growth back then, and indeed, in the intervening years I have found that growth (mental, physical and particularly spiritual) is never quite what one expects. It's usually better, once the process is complete and the fruit is mature. As a man, I appreciate what the Lord has brought about in me, and I'm well aware that in many ways I'm still a sapling!

To focus this down a little further, allow me to quote a Pyromaniac :

Real manliness . . . is defined by Christlike character. Not just the gentle-Jesus-meek-and-mild-style character, but the full-orbed fruit of the Spirit rounded out with strength, courage, conviction, and a stout-hearted willingness to oppose error and fight for the truth - even to the point of laying down your life for the truth if necessary.

When the apostle Paul writes about the characteristics of true Christian manhood in Ephesians 4, he focuses on one vital mark of spiritual maturity: "That we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by the craftiness in deceitful schemes" (v. 14). You want to be a man as opposed to a little boy? Grow up in your grasp of the truth. Get a grip on sound doctrine . . . get anchored in the truth, and learn to defend it.

To become more mature is to learn to stand firm, rooted in the truth. The real key to growth is surrender. The shoots must become tender for the blossom to emerge, and we must submit ourselves to God. The blossoms must then fall for the fruit to emerge, and we, too must sacrifice our own glory for the sake of His.