Every Christian must have a Grow Up Mindset, as we discussed last week.
A Grow Up mindset is one where the Christian embraces the chance to cultivate their Christlikeness no matter the work or sacrifice needed.
Today, I want to show how Jesus encouraged and taught his followers to have a Grow Up mindset.
The first thing that Jesus called people to do was follow him. The invitation was not to stay where you were and sprinkle a little of God in your life but to join him, start a journey, come and see. To turn from where you are going and start a new path.
Secondly, Jesus asks his followers to obey. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus discusses anger, lust, giving, worry, judging, and prayer. He ends the sermon with a direct call to obey all that he just discussed about these things. He says that those who obey will experience the Kingdom of Heaven while the one who doesn’t will be as if Jesus never knew them. And that the one who hears and does what Jesus says will be like a wise man who builds for the long haul and is protected from the storms of life.
Third, Jesus asks his followers to Grow Up, even if that growth starts small. He says the Kingdom of God is like a small seed that grows into a giant tree or like a seed that is planted, and over time, and largely unknowingly, starts to grow. The idea being that the end result is something fruitful, grand, strong, functional, and beautiful.
The Grown Up Christian follows Jesus and learns from him. Then the Grown Up Christian starts to do the things that Jesus did and said. Then the Grown Up Christian grows Christlike character and demonstrates love, peace, and joy. The fixed mindset Christian barely notices Jesus’ life and teaching, picks and chooses what to obey, and has no vision for what God really wants to do in their life and thus never matures.
It is never too late to Grow Up. You do not have to stay the same and be the same old person doing the same old things. Jesus says that learning from him brings rest so why not give it a try? The result will be a treelike life full of good things that last and leave a legacy of growth and fulfillment.
Take on a Grow Up Mindset today.
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