MATURING IN THE FAITH

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”  (1 Peter 1:13-16  NIV) 

The Christian community was never meant to be a collection of “cookie-cut” human beings. The gospel delights in a Christ-like individuality for each disciple.

One never sees Jesus, for example, squelching the dynamism of Peter. Rather, He simply seeks to envelope Peter’s temperament in wisdom and spiritual character. The Apostle Peter, who so wisely gives leadership to the Jerusalem church in its early days, is the same Simon Peter of earlier days who was marked with impulsiveness and a competitive spirit. The only difference between the apostle and the fisherman is maturity, not suppressed individuality. 

-- Gordon MacDonald, quoted in “Side by Side: Disciple-Making for a New Century”,  Steve & Lois Rabey, General Editors

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