Hebrews 6:1: So let’s press on to maturity, by moving on from the basics about Christ’s word.
Last week, I was watching a show that had a classic legal scene that some of you may be familiar with. There was a person who had served some time in jail, and now they were at their parole hearing. They sat in front of a group of people who had the power to get them out of jail, or send them back for even longer. The job of the convicted person was to convince the group that they had changed and turned from their old ways. They had to prove, using words, that they had learned from their mistakes and genuinely changed.
I have no idea how true to life these Hollywood scenes are. But it brought to mind a phrase that I heard recently: “Don’t tell me you’ve changed, show me you’ve changed.” I think it’s a noble goal for us to want to be different and better people. But on that journey, it’s one thing to tell others that we’ve changed, and another thing to show them how we’ve changed.
When I think about the process of change in a person’s life, three stages come to mind. First, we ourselves realize that we’re changing. We notice that something new is happening in our lives and we’re beginning to think and act differently. Second, we notice concrete things in our life that are changing. We realize that we’re not doing things the way we used to do them before. For example, maybe we have never committed to memorizing scripture, but over the past six months we’ve now memorized two passages. These are signs that help us prove to ourselves that real change is taking place.
The third step is the most challenging but also the most rewarding. This is when other people start to notice and acknowledge that we’ve changed. It’s no longer us just thinking we’re changing. Now, we’re not alone in noticing that we’re becoming a different person. It’s other people who are speaking into the change. For another person to notice a difference in you means that this change has been so great that it’s easily recognizable. I think of the moments when God changed the name of a person, like Abram or Jacob. To have their names changed means that their identity was changed, and even their role in their community changed. From our own church, I think of Abby and her message last week. As the pastoral team, we have the privilege of seeing God work in Abby’s life and to see her change and grow.
Big changes in our lives are always preceded by little changes. Reflect on your past 6 months, or year, or 2 years. Are there distinguishable changes that you’ve noticed in yourself? Are there even changes that others have noticed in you? Are these changes moving you in the right direction? Are they pushing you toward God, and deeper in faith? One of the phrases we use at Lifespring is that we are “maturing together to impact community.” Are we seeing that maturing and growth?
Hebrews 6:1 encourages us to press on to maturity. We’re called to be people who lean forward and press toward God in our lives. May we all look back on our journey a year from now, and be able to say that God has really worked in our lives in ways we and others can see.