What is the main goal of parenting? Personally, I would say the “main goal” of parenting, is to raise sons and daughters whose level of maturity matches their age.
This is also God’s goal for you. His main goal is that by the time you reach spiritual adulthood, you “reflect the image” of the perfect model of spiritual maturity: His Son, Jesus Christ. You may ask, but how can we achieve such an impossible feat? One step at a time.
Did you know that the greatest joy in this life is to know God experientially? In fact, some Christians live solely for this goal. And I don’t blame them at all. However, many miss this: that the way into these encounters with the Holy Spirit are actually achieved through a heart that is hungry for the knowledge of God. Now, I did not say a “mind” hungry for the knowledge of God. It is all about a “heart” hungry for that true, “transformative knowledge” of God. And this only comes through the Spirit.
Here is how it works. Paul says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:16-18).
In other words, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord, is using the Spirit to wash our souls as we look at Him in the “spiritual mirror.” And the longer we gaze at Him, the more we’ll “image Him.” But why do our souls need washing? Well, even though the moment we get saved we receive the “whole meal deal,” meaning the whole Holy Spirit, it does not mean we’re in any way ready for heaven. It should be obvious to all of us that just as when a newborn arrives into this earthly world, they are in no way ready to live on their own. In the same way, when we are born again, we arrive as spiritual newborns and are in no way equipped for the Heavenly world.
So, this spiritual mirror reflects the “glory of the Lord” who is the image of God? First, did you read that carefully? This mirror reflects the glory of the Lord, who is THE SPIRIT. And the “face” in this mirror is the IMAGE OF GOD, who is Christ. Now, when we look into this mirror it should change us, right? Well, it’s not quite that simple. For instance, when you look in the mirror in the morning and realize that you have a giant booger hanging out of your nose, do you just walk away without removing it? NO. You remove that disgusting thing! I mean really, don’t we all put forth at least “some effort” to make ourselves presentable before going out into society? In the same way, when we look into this mirror that reflects God’s glory back at us, won’t it reveal our “spiritual imperfections” telling us we need to use “God’s soap”? Yes, it will. Thankfully both the mirror and soap are found in one place: the Word of God.
Regarding this, James says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it” (Jam 1:22-25).
Notice that James says we’ll be blessed by our obedience. But how? First, did you know that we all have a “distorted” soul? Of course, you do. Our souls being our minds, emotions, and will. Since it is the Father’s will to make us look more like Jesus the Son, every time we make choices to obey the Father, we are at the same time bringing pleasure to the Holy Spirit within us because the Holy Spirit’s will is to glorify Christ. And every time we glorify Christ through our obedience to the Word of God, our souls become slightly more “in line” with Christ, and as a result, we EXPERIENCE GOD. This is the pleasure of God. And in this way, it is God’s good pleasure to bless us with joy, peace, comfort, mercy, faith, hope, and love, through our fellowship with Him by the Holy Spirit.
Our faithful Father LOVES to bless His obedient children! And this obedience is actually not a difficult thing. Some may think I’m crazy. But didn’t Jesus say that His “burden is light” (Matt 11:30). And doesn’t Peter tell us that “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the [intimate] knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” (2 Pet 1:3). In truth, the problem of our lack of obedience stems from our lack of knowledge regarding our identity in Christ. But when the child of God comes to realize all the power and privileges that come attached to their salvation, they find the strength and joy to obey their Father. And here is some more good news: God only requires us to obey what we know based on the level of our maturity. This means that the newborn child of God is not required to fulfill that of a 7-year-old child of God. And an individual who is spiritually 10 years old does not bear the same responsibility as a 20-year-old. Yet, if a 2-year-old child of God has matured so much in those two years that they live like a 6-year-old, then God will require 6-year-old obedience. If we remember that our Father is the “perfect” Father, only asking of us what is appropriate for our age or maturity, then we can confidently expect Him to reward us for age/maturity-appropriate behavior. Here are two ways Scripture uses this idea. Here Paul reminds the Corinthian church that he only gave them what was appropriate for their spiritual age, saying, “I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it” (1 Cor 3:2). And the writer of Hebrews says that “everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child” (Heb 5:13).
However, it would seem awfully inappropriate to find a fully grown man walking around town in diapers, that is, unless there was something wrong. And this was the problem with those the author of Hebrews was writing to. Notice in the last verse quoted above how he says, “Everyone who LIVES on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness.” The problem was they were living on milk instead of moving onto solids. He puts it this way: “You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Heb 5:12-14). He was chastising them. They had been Christians for years but had failed to grow. He tells them: “you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God” (Heb 5:11b-12). Remember how I said that God only requires obedience that is “appropriate” for our age and therefore rewards us accordingly? But what happens in our relationship with God, and in our fellowship with the Holy Spirit, when we neglect the mirror and the soap? The years will go on, but our glory will fade. Because the only way for us to go from glory to glory is through gazing into the mirror, allowing the soap to wash us daily. And this mirror not only washes us, but it also feeds us. As mentioned above, we must move from milk to soft foods, and finally to meat, if we are to grow and become strong.
So, if we refuse the mirror, soap, and nutrition, our Father will continue loving us as His children, but He cannot bless and reward us. For example, consider the parent in the market with the child lying in the aisle screaming, pounding their feet and fists against the floor because they were refused the toy. The parent who gets down and lies next to this child and consoles them by giving in to their demands will be stuck with a baby for the rest of their lives. But our good Father must do what is right, just, and merciful. And it is right, just, and merciful of Him to withhold His blessings from His disobedient children, and to lavish the obedient ones with good gifts. So, if we refuse to obey our Father, our glory will fade, and our stomachs will shrink. Soon we’ll no longer resemble His children in appearance and fade away due to the effects of malnutrition. And what happens when this continues for an extended period? Death sets in. For the consequences of sin is death (Rom 6:23).
But for those who have continued to look into the perfect mirror being washed by it, who have continued to mature, who have maintained an age-appropriate diet, these individuals have their “powers of discernment trained by constant practice” (Heb 5:14b). As a result, they KNOW the Spirit’s “voice.” They know His voice because they live by the Word of Truth. As a result, their will is aligned with God’s will. And as a result of that, they are capable of measuring every thought, message, emotion, and word of advice, against the voice of the Spirit that they have become so familiar with. For the one who has “eaten” the Word of God must be “filled” with the Spirit of God since they are One. This individual lives with the favor of God upon their lives! They will intimately experience God regularly. They will bear the fruit of the Spirit which is: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22b-23a). And they will radiate the glory of God who is the image of Christ! This is God’s goal.
Sadly, today there are many of God’s children stuck in diapers who should be fully potty trained by now! And this grieves the Spirit. You cannot distinguish these Christians from those of this world. Though they are New Creations and have been given the Spirit that sets them free, they have chosen to live according to their old nature, by picking back up the “chains of bondage” to sin. And this is the group that I expect will soon hear: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev 3:15-17). Yet, God is patient and merciful. He is ready and willing to forgive if only they’d throw away those diapers! If this applies to you, I pray you will return to the mirror and allow it to wash you. And I pray you will start eating again because you are fading away!
But for you who are being changed from glory to glory due to gazing into the perfect mirror and are being washed by the Word, and who continually enjoy the “choice cuts” of meat due to your obedience to the Spirit of glory, you have discovered the “secret place” of the presence of the Lord where blessings, gifts, and fruit abound. You radiate the glory of Christ who is the image of God. So, WELL DONE! You not only are presently honored by the Lord of glory, but you will be eternally honored too.
This is the will of God for you!
Aletheia: Truth in the Darkness 