Ephesians 4:13
Till we all come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Growing in Christ....
Growing as an individual...
Growing as part of a community of others who are believers.
Growing doesn't isn't always translated as numbers or size....
In this case, growing is best seen in the change of character a person has as God 's Holy Spirit is at work in their life.
Do others we come in contact with see Jesus in us.
Do we talk like Him?
Do we conduct our business like Him?
Last night at Vineyard Recovery, we had our 21st meeting.
I felt like we were to kind of take stock on how far we had come as a group.
Kind of a spiritual inventory.
I asked, "How have you changed over these 21 weeks we have been meeting?"
The answers that came back were really good.
"I'm more aware of who I am and all the things that God is wanting to change in me."
"I'm learning patience...not something I've been good at."
"I'm painfully aware that God is calling me to love those I don't really want to love."
All the answers that came back were about character flaws and how God was working on changing them.
The need for character to be changed is the heart of recovery.
So Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character" - is stating the best possible attitude one can take in order to make a beginning on this lifetime job. This does not mean that we expect all our character defects to be lifted out of us as the drive to drink was. A few of them may be, but with most of them we shall have to be content with patient improvement. The words "entirely ready" underline the fact that we want to aim at the very best we know or can learn.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 65
In other words, I want to put myself, along with all my character mess, at the disposal of God so He can work in me. To bring about the needed change for life to continue without the drugs or alcohol.
The church loves to talk about salvation. Loves to talk about the mercy of God. Loves to expound on God's grace. But when it comes to our lives and our nature, or character, you will hear very little mentioned about God desiring us to go through a change needed to move forward in our recovery. Yet, I think this is the heart of the gospel of Christ.
The book of Hebrews speaks of spiritual immaturity:Chapter 5:12-14
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principals of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food (spiritually speaking). For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use (or practice) have their senses exercised to discern both good and bad.
This is the heart of why we gather on Saturday nights. The very idea that God is calling us to grow up before we grow older. To exercise that which has been given freely to us by God in the understanding that we are to take our message to others who are suffering. To bring in the Kingdom of God.
God on you....
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