When I was a child!

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. (1Corinthians 13:11)

What will it take for this truth to hit home? When we face any obstacle in life we find that a decision must be made! And very often we act on reflex, someone offends us and we instinctively look to defend ourselves, that is the simple nature of our fallen states. Sin has blinded us and left us with some nasty characteristics, with many of those habitual tendencies we act out without thinking, or at least to the extent of not pondering how we should react, "tit for tat" seems to be a universal law, and many stand by it! However it is not what is expected from the child of God, we are under a new set of laws, we have been saved by grace through faith, which is a gift of God, and it has nothing to do with our abilities as independent individuals, boasting has been excluded from the equation. Therefore if I boast then I am guilty of pride, however it will be a false understanding of what I have been saved out of, as there is nothing I can do to earn God’s favour outside of His Son, absolutely nothing! Yet when I was a child in the faith, I spoke as a child; I thought like a child and possibly the most evident trait in my understanding was that I reasoned like a child.

I recall with vivid recollection how back in the early days of my salvation I shared accommodation with two of my life-long friends and brothers in Christ, we had all been newly saved and we were trying to work things out. Topics like, should we find out whether the chicken we are eating has been strangled or not? It occupied our discussion for hours on end and we would wrestle with scripture and each other trying to discern the truth. We reasoned with a childish brain, we all wanted to be heard and we all wanted to be the victor on the correct understanding, I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong with that type of deliberation, I think it can be healthy and it strengthens us as believers or so it should. All we really wanted to do was understand what was true and then walk in the truth. But our deliberation and our reasoning was still immature and was incapable or applying godly wisdom to our deliberation as mature believers.

“That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.” (Act 15:29)

I can remember that as a new believer I was like a "bull in a china shop", I would do and say without giving it much thought. My life was full of childish application, zeal without knowledge seemed to be the order of the day. My motivation was sincere, I hope that was my heart in most matters, I do not know, but God Knows! I was young and full of life, and still tainted by the fashion industry, jeans with holes in them were very fashionable and I had more than one pair. One evening at a bible study a brother made a comment about them and both Franco and Juks (my house mates) made a comment, before long we were at logger-heads about my jeans and how disrespectful I was. I was incensed at the time, but because of my pride taking a knock and as I still reasoned as a child I was going to put on a spectacle. We were busy with some alterations outside the lounge area, and the foundations had already been dug out. So I plotted to make my statement; if this was stumbling them then I was to remove the stumbling block. What I should have done was quietly thrown them into the bin and then forgotten about the incident, never to be discussed. However I went looking for petrol and then placed my jeans in the trench and doused them with fuel. I recall looking into the lounge window to see if they were paying attention and then I lit a match and swoosh, there was such an explosive flame that I singed my hair.

This is a classic example how I reasoned as a child! But there must come a day in a believer’s life when they must give up childish ways! Scripture is full of instruction on how we should react to any particular situation we may encounter along our expedition, here on earth. We must not reason like we once did as a child, but we must all become a men with our application to our reasoning, a new set of laws we must applied to our thought process. Paul the Apostle is very clear on this; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:1-3)

Then later on in the chapter He has this to say; “Repay no one evil for evil,” but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” (Romans 12:17)

Instinctive carnal behaviour would be to repay evil for evil, but when we begin to reason as men, then we must say, NO! To that type of human behaviour!

We need look no further than our great saviours example as He hung upon that tree, he uttered these words; “Father forgive them for they know not what they do!”

It has been the common lot of God's people to be persecuted, either with a powerful hand or with a spiteful tongue. Now we are here taught to bless those that so persecute us. Bless them; that is, First, “Speak well of them. If there be any thing in them that is commendable and praiseworthy, take notice of it, and mention it to their honour.” Secondly, “Speak respectfully to them, according as their place is, not rendering railing for railing, and bitterness for bitterness.” And, Thirdly, We must wish well to them, and desire their good, so far from seeking any revenge. Nay, Fourthly, We must offer up that desire to God, by prayer for them. If it be not in the power of our hand to do anything else for them, yet we can testify our good-will by praying for them, for which our master hath given us not only a rule, but an example to back that rule, Luk_23:34 - Bless, and curse not. (Matthew Henry)

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”

May God help all of us to put on the mind of Christ!

Signing off

Tyrone