[When available, audio recordings of these devotions are posted at http://www.redeemerclc.info/audio-devotions]
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Ephesians 4:15 ...grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ.
GROW UP IN YOUR FAITH!
A children know that they are growing up when their parents start to say things like, "Act your age!" or "Don't you think you're a little old to be doing that?" As we mature we are given certain responsibilities around the house and at school, a little at a time, until we have finally developed enough to take responsibility for ourselves and for our actions. That is similar to what happens to you as you grow in your faith.
The problem with simply believing what you are told is that if someone misinforms you, you may learn something that is wrong. That is what the apostle is referring to in our text when he tells us that, "...we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting..." If someone tells you that God says this or that, you can recall what you learned from the Scriptures or you can go back to those Scriptures and read for yourself whether or not God says this or that.
Think of the teaching of Creation vs. Evolution. At home your parents told you that God created the heavens and the earth. In school teachers told you that it just happened over the course of billions of years. Which is correct? It can be confusing for a child. But when we can go and hear what God says about it, there is no confusion. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Through the Word, God the Holy Spirit teaches you and feeds your faith, so that as it is written, "...everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Hebrews 5:13-14).
The Spirit has caused your faith to grow so that the child of God may mature enough to tell the difference between what man says and what God says. Go to God's Word and be confident, not only that you know the origins of the world, but that that Jesus died to pay for your sins and rose again so that you could be reborn as a child of God.
Shepherd of tender youth,
Guiding in love and truth
Through devious ways;
Christ, our triumphant King,
We come Thy name to sing
And here our children bring
To join Thy praise.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 628:1)
