The Weekly Perspective
by TJ Draper, Deacon
What is the theme of God’s story in the Bible, and of human history? Maturity. The story starts in Genesis with the creation of man. The first man, the first Adam, was immature. There’s nothing particularly wrong with being immature. Everyone starts off in need of training and knowledge.
But Adam compounded immaturity by falling into sin. This was a setback to the theme of maturity. Now Adam and the whole human race’s growth was stunted. The rest of the story then, the thread through the whole Bible, is God directly intervening in the course of human affairs to spur His people toward maturity; to rescue us from our enmity with God and our perpetual desire to remain in sin and immaturity. God the Son put on human flesh to become the once-for-all sacrifice.
And at the end of the story, which we are privy to in Revelation, man is matured in the second Adam. The perfected bride is presented to the mature second Adam.
As you consider this Lenten season, and the culmination which draws near very quickly now with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord, consider to what end He did these things. Of course he redeemed you from your bondage to sin and death. But redeemed to what? To maturity. One of the purposes of this season is that you may reflect on those things which hinder your maturation and ask God for wisdom, guidance, and the Holy Spirit to help remove those things from your life. Remember, James tells us in 1:5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” So ask God for wisdom and maturity, and trust Him, for He will give it to you liberally!