4 Signs of Spiritual Maturity

I have been thinking about getting old a LOT lately. I’ll be 55 this year…my body continues to change, my skin looks a little saggy, and I’m drifting further and further away from pop culture and what young people think is cool. Evidenced by the fact that I still say “cool.”

A few weeks ago I had a chance to revisit with some old friends. These are people that Jon and I were friends with before we were married. We attended church together and were in ministry together. We hung out at each other’s houses on weekend nights and had refrigerator rights. They are one of the few couples that Jon and I felt equally close to the husband and the wife…that’s hard to find. As a young couple dating, engaged, and eventually married, they were a lifeline of wisdom for us because they were about 10 years ahead of us on the marriage and family journey. 

As we were catching up we were talking about how old we felt and how old all our kids are now. And then I asked what they were doing in ministry these days. And they began sharing how they feel “sidelined” at their church…that the younger people had stepped in and taken over leadership positions leaving them to feel as though there was no place for them. 

I had such a visceral reaction to this that it surprised even me! I leaned forward and raised my voice a little and I said something like,

 “What do you mean there is no place for you? The church needs you now more than ever! You literally have 40 years of marriage experience and you’ve raised two kids to adulthood who have thriving relationships with the Lord and loving relationships with their spouses and they are amazing parents! Young families would KILL to sit under your wisdom and spiritual maturity. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S NO PLACE FOR YOU!?!?!”

Since January, I have been studying the book of Philippians, first through a Beth Moore study and then a study with my church. So, it’s no coincidence that Phil 3:15 is something I’ve read over and over the last couple of months. 

It says: “Let all of us who are mature think this way.” 

What way? 

That’s what I’m talking about today. We are going to look at the third chapter of Philippians and extract four signs of spiritual maturity and three things to do if you don’t have it yet. 

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Blog post and graphics by Sophia Lebano

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