“You must now long for the unadulterated spiritual milk like a newborn baby, so that by it you would be grown up into salvation.”
(1 Peter 2:2 One New Man)
Every year as the month of June approaches or May depending on where you live in the United States, all the children start getting excited about summer break approaching. They are telling their classmates they will see them again in the fall as they move on to the next grade level. If they are seniors, they are discussing their graduation of High School and possibly their next step into college. How quickly would that excitement be broken if one of them received a letter stating that they would not be moving on to the next grade level or graduating. If they would be required to stay at the same level the next year, the heartbreak could be devastating, especially if they were being left behind by their friends and peers. Sometimes being left behind could be because the student didn’t open any of their school books, study, or do their homework. All these options would cause you not to do very well with tests.
Do you know it is the same with our spiritual maturity. One of my pastors used to say you could have gotten saved with Abraham, and still not be any farther in spiritual growth or maturity. A student’s educational level is determined by tests and exams. Our spiritual growth and maturity is also tested in the same way. The gauge we use to test our spiritual maturity would be the Word of God. The book of James let us know as we are tested and tempted in trials, we endure them with joy because this will increase our faith, which in turn increases our patience (James 1:2). Just as a teacher gives a student tests and exams throughout the school year to see how they are progressing, Jesus tells us to search the scriptures to determine if we have eternal life with Him(John 5:39). The greatest thing about our text book, the Bible, is as Christians, our teacher is the Holy Spirit. We don’t have to cram all night and worry about the test the next day, because He will bring to our memory everything we have studied. I emphasize study because He can’t bring anything to your memory that you have never studied (John 14:26). Paul lets us know in 2 Corinthians we have to examine ourselves to determine if we are in the faith or not; our only gauge to do that would be the word of God that is taught to us by the Holy Spirit. Are we daily checking our curriculum to see how we are doing in each of our subjects: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, prayer, rightly dividing the word of truth, faith, trials, tests, relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Does our Teacher the Holy Spirit have to constantly wake us up in the back of the class because we are asleep? We have to remember what the prophet Amos said “Woe unto those that are asleep in Zion” (Amos 6:1). Paul also told us in Romans 13:11 it’s high time to wake out of sleep because our salvation is near. So why don’t we move to the front of the class and open up our spiritual ears so that we can hear what the Holy Spirit is teaching us. I remember hearing an acronym for the bible: Believers Instructions Before Leaving Earth. So we need to take our instruction manuals and do what Paul told Timothy “You must now be diligent to present yourself approved of God, a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, teaching the doctrine of the Truth correctly and directly” (2 Timothy 2:15 One New Man). We have such an awesome Teacher who wants all of His students to pass and make it to the final graduation level of Heaven. This is the only teaching and instructions you will ever have where everyone can be “honor roll” students at graduation. If we listen and obey the Holy Spirit as He teaches and guides us, the bible says “Now to the One Who is able to keep you without stumbling and to stand before His Glory blameless in extreme joy.” (Jude 24 ONM)
Then God will look at us as a proud parent does at their child’s graduation. His Son will say well done my good and faithful servant. More valuable than any paper diploma you will ever receive will be the crown and rewards you will receive at this graduation. You will also be able to sit down at the table for the wedding feast of the Lord. So let us do our due diligence to be obedient and studious children of God and His Word so we don’t get left behind, and we can look forward to our final graduation ceremony with our Lord.
