A rabbi is sitting under a fig tree in Israel, resting. He felt the figs dripping honey on him. Across from him, there was a goat with breast heavy with milk and exclaimed, “This is truly the land of milk and honey.”
Maturity is the ability to think, speak, and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. ~Samuel Ullman, a Poet.
With everything that I’ve learned in the past 40 years of my life, I’d say, “maturity is to live and love from the heart.”
John Eldredge writes “Now, name one thing in the entire created world more precious than a human heart. It can’t be done.”
Just as the Tin Woodman who became too busy doing and lost his heart. Our culture is about doing…doing…doing. Eventually we lose our hearts. If you speak from the heart, you’re disrespectful and a fool. Doing the good thing does not necessarily means you are a mature person. If that were the case, churches would be so loving and kind… and not so driven by works and not appoint their choice by desire and doctrines but not discern what God is doing. Someone puts is this way: ”… churches are becoming more robotic caricature of Christians driven insane by ruthless quest for material wealth, fame and power, and without love, the heart of Christianity.” They have become human doing. So like the Tom Woodman we need a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19; Ezekiel 36:26)
We all need to mature psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. Immature people are heartless, always reacting with their emotions, always chasing after the wind. They wear a mask…And we are to get rid of the mask that people see and be real to ourselves. Maturity is one of those psychological factors in life that need s to be developed. It is not something we are born or become a Christian. Maturity is a social process. Like honey is produced by a colony of bees. Milk from more than one goat or a cow. It happen through trial and error. It is learned through both in our achievements and our defeats. And only those who are willing to be taught will mature beautifully. I was communicating with my daughter about maturity. I said, “Be willing to learn from others even if they seem condescending and arrogant. Perhaps that’s the only thing in her life she identifies with. What we do does not define us. We are who we are because we exist – rich or poor, educated or illiterate. We are all created in the image of God. Things and positions do not validate us. We are here to serve, not to lord over others. Those who believe they are deserving will always be chasing the wind. And no one can chase the wind, or hold it in their hand. Only God can.”
Maturity is not greedy but giving without expecting anything in return. Maturity is not jealous or envious. Maturity will LOVE from their heart unconditionally.
Maturity waits patiently for the tree to mature and bear fruits. Israelites couldn’t wait for Moses to come down from the mountain so they built an idol, golden calf and worshipped it. Shakespeare says that “all that glitters is not gold.”
It’s time to grow up…