“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways” (1 Cor. 13:11).
Many Christians are very childish in the way they think and reason. They think that God is some big answer guy in the sky, who’s going to solve all their problems for them. God’s not that mean.
Part of growing up is thinking for yourself. Part of it is making reasonable choices. Another part is taking responsibility for your choices. If God did everything for you, you would never learn anything. So God doesn’t do that.
Divine Principles
God gives you principles of how to act, speak and behave yourself. He expects you to do your own thinking, to come to your own conclusions. But he also expects you to accept the consequences of your choices.
Growing Up Spiritually
Growing up is hard to do. And growing up spiritually can be even harder. We want everything to be easy for us. God will not do that. God will take us into the valley of doubt and confusion, so that we can grow.
Just like muscles require resistance, so does the will. For a strong will, we need to have a strong force to push against. That strong force is the world, the flesh, and the devil.
The Bible
We need to approach the Bible differently than we do. We need to see how the people in the Bible related to God. Learn about their relationship. And apply the principles of that relationship to our own relationship with God. That’s why the Bible was given. Not as an answer book, but as a guide to building a relationship with God.