As a Church we have been working through the early years of Paul’s conversion. It remains quite remarkable to me that Paul actually took time to come to grips with his new faith. After receiving his sight back when the Lord appeared to him in a dazzling light he travelled to Arabia. For three years he spent time, no doubt on a spiritual retreat, regaining his perspective. However Galatians tells us that after a visit to Jerusalem, Paul again took time off travelling to Cilicia and Syria, his home town region. This was for a 14 year period. Depending on weather he was out of action for 14 years in total meaning an 11 year stint at home, or whether he was at home for a full 14 years is debatable. However, the point is that Paul was not in a great hurry to take the commission to be an Apostle to the Gentiles and start his remarkable evangelistic missionary journeys.
I take comfort in this fact. Sometimes we like to rush at things like a bull at a gate and believe that if we don’t get it done now then there is something wrong with us. Perhaps the fact that we live in a society where we demand instant service and immediate gratification adds to this urgent need to perform immediately. Sometimes of course this is a necessary aspect of modern life and the contemporary workplace. Spirituality however should be considered to be different.
Just as a baby can only grow to adulthood in small steps over a number of years, so we can only grow to maturity in Christ over time. If such a great Christian as the Apostle Paul took years to work out his faith and come to the point of fulfilling his life’s call, then presumably we can give ourselves permission to do the same. This all points to the fact that the journey is just as important as the destination, so I say, let’s enjoy the journey. In order to do this well, we need to ensure that we don’t put ourselves on massive guilt trips and compare ourselves to other Christians, for God will deal with us in his own way and own time. Maturity after all takes a life time and we will still never be perfect!
Of course the one word of warning we must all apply is that this process of maturity is not and must never be an excuse to do nothing. Remember, to be on a journey, it is most important to face forwards and walk.
I take comfort in this fact. Sometimes we like to rush at things like a bull at a gate and believe that if we don’t get it done now then there is something wrong with us. Perhaps the fact that we live in a society where we demand instant service and immediate gratification adds to this urgent need to perform immediately. Sometimes of course this is a necessary aspect of modern life and the contemporary workplace. Spirituality however should be considered to be different.
Just as a baby can only grow to adulthood in small steps over a number of years, so we can only grow to maturity in Christ over time. If such a great Christian as the Apostle Paul took years to work out his faith and come to the point of fulfilling his life’s call, then presumably we can give ourselves permission to do the same. This all points to the fact that the journey is just as important as the destination, so I say, let’s enjoy the journey. In order to do this well, we need to ensure that we don’t put ourselves on massive guilt trips and compare ourselves to other Christians, for God will deal with us in his own way and own time. Maturity after all takes a life time and we will still never be perfect!
Of course the one word of warning we must all apply is that this process of maturity is not and must never be an excuse to do nothing. Remember, to be on a journey, it is most important to face forwards and walk.
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