These are interesting times to be alive. Great truths are being uncovered hidden beneath the rubble pile of contemporary theological error.  At the same time, other forms of deception that first surfaced in the Early Church will attempt to walk back into the Church today and find a place in our current thinking. Only those who have yielded to the process of maturing will be able to safely navigate through these theological storms and end up docked at a place called truth.

I went to the dictionary to check the definition of maturity. One definition described maturity as “ripeness”. Immediately, I thought of the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit requires the maturing process to ripen its essence so that it will have the time required to become edible and sweet tasting fruit. Fruit picked while still green and immature is sour. Immaturity is fueled by impatience with the process.

Maturity helps us not throw emotional and spiritual temper tantrums when faced with uncertain times and when faced with the challenges that arise as we continue to explore the depths of the faith once delivered to the Church. Paul described in Ephesians 4 how fully matured and equipped believers would live in these times, “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”

We are in a season of theological shaking. The shaking can only cause your fruit to fall to the ground prematurely if you stop trusting. To survive the current shaking and become someone who is fully matured you will need to stay intimately connected to Jesus. This connection is strengthened when you trust Jesus more than you trust a theology about Him. If you chose to trust, when this season is over, your life will express the sweetness of maturity that only comes from having remained connected to the presence of Jesus no matter what was taking place. 

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.” John 15:5