“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”

Ephesians 4:13–15

All of us start life as babies. But unlike the animals (at least many of them) who can walk within minutes of birth, we take months and months to learn to walk. If you have ever seen a child take those first few halting steps, you know how excited the parents get. But in reality that walking is not very impressive. It is only praised as the beginning of a process. If you see a person who falls down every few steps and wobbles from side to side, you think something is wrong.

Our spiritual life is much the same way. The Bible uses the metaphor of babies for new Christians. And just as we expect children to grow, develop, and mature, God expects us to lay aside immaturity and grow up. He does not want us to remain spiritual infants, unable to process real food and unable to walk in His ways. Yet there are still Christians who have been saved for many years but have not matured.

One of the best evidences of spiritual maturity is stability. Grown up Christians are not easily swayed with new ideas and doctrines. They do not insist on having their own way. Someone said, “An immature Christian is hard to please and easy to offend.” The more time we spend with God in prayer and in His Word, the stronger our spiritual lives grow.