SPIRITUAL MATURITY: GROWING UP IN CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITIES

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). 

Spiritual maturity among Christians also manifests in taking up responsibilities in agreement with the word of God. 

According to the key verse above, you are God's handiwork. This means that God has carefully designed you following a thorough plan for your life—how you appear now and how you will appear in the future. 

You are not here by accident. You are here by divine plan. So you are here for a purpose. 

What is purpose?

Purpose is the intent for a design. You have something in mind that you want to make it appear in real life. The intent for which it should appear is known as purpose. 

A handiwork, better still, a masterpiece, is a craft that depicts a designer's utmost skill and competence. When you harness all your skill, creativity, ingenuity, shrewdness, smartness and wittiness derived through wisdom or experience, the best design that you can come up with, becomes your masterpiece. 

The Bible says that you are God's masterpiece, and that he created you for good works. So when you appeared, you appeared as God's design filled with all possibilities of producing glorious outcomes. 

The ability to become the best of you is already in you by his Spirit, however, you have a responsibility to make God's intent for you come true. When you discover God's intent for you, and you take responsibility to make it come true, then you are showing sign of spiritual maturity. Among Christians, spiritual maturity also shows out by taking responsibility and increasing in responsibilities. 

As a good design having the capability of making God's intent for you come true, it is your responsibility to see yourself as God, your Father and Maker, sees you. Also, it is your responsibility to become who you were made to be. Christianity, as much as is a call to fellowship, is also a call to responsibility.

Adulthood

Adulthood is a stage of responsibility toward oneself. When you assume responsibility for yourself, ensuring that the decisions you take lead to glorious outcomes, you show sign of adulthood. And when you are ready to bear the consequences of your own action or inaction, you have become an adult. Adulthood, then, is not about age. It is about the mental and emotional capacity to assume  responsibility for oneself. 

Leadership

Leadership is rather a call—a call to responsibility toward others. A leader is not responsible for only himself or herself. A leader is one who has grown from being responsible for himself or herself alone, to being responsible for others too. Leadership, therefore, is a calling, not a career. 

You are created for good works

You are a product of God's design. Your design has a unique intent. His intent for designing you in this way is so that you will glorify him on earth by doing good works so that people may see and give praise to him for bringing such a wonderful person to the world. Everything God makes is beautifully and wonderfully made. 

Jesus said, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12 NIV). He said this knowing that the good intent for which the Father created you in him is to do good works. 

He told his disciples, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16 NIV). There is no point concealing your glory from the world. In fact, "the entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters!" (Romans 8:19 TPT). It is time to unveil your glory for the world to see and give praise to the Father. 

As one created for good works, scripture goes on further to tell you to "discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love" (Hebrews 10:24 TPT). This, too, is a responsibility you must take to fulfil God's intent for you. 

Forms of Christian responsibility

Responsibility refers to duty, role or obligation that one assumes to achieve a certain goal.  

Christian responsibility is not limited to preaching and teaching in a congregational setting. To be a cleaner, a greeter, an usher, a drummer, a singer, a choreographer, photographer, videographer, a graphic designer, a writer or a secretary in the house of God is part of the responsibilities of a Christian within a church family. 

But these are not the only ways to show that you are a responsible Christian. Being responsible for your spouse and children is a Christian responsibility that God cherishes so much. It is better in the sight of God than donating huge sums of money to charity (1Tim 5:8). 

What Christian responsibility have you taken toward fulfilling God's intent for you? Taking up responsibilities in agreement with the word of God indicates that you are growing up spiritually. 

#Truth Haven