I attended a seminar a couple of months ago and the presenter said something that stepped on some toes…

She spoke about maturity, spiritual maturity.  You see, there are those who believe that because they are older in years, they are more mature in Christ.  However, there is no direct correlation between your age and your spiritual maturity.  Once you have become saved, you are born again in spirit which means that someone at the age of 18 can be more spiritually mature than a “mother of the church” at age 78 who has been in the church all of her life but not truly born again. (ouch!)

There are two passages in the Bible that I want you to reflect on that many people think refer to the age of a person, however when you put them in the context of spiritual maturity; they may take on a new meaning for you.

“Concerning him we have much to say, it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of the righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”  (Hebrews 5: 11-14)

When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:11)

The first passage speaks to our need to grow from infant to adult in the word of God while the second passage deals with us growing up and putting away childish things that many of us “grown ups” still play around with. 

I do not believe there is any one way or a right way to interpret the Bible because just as with any other information that we process, the meaning is in the heart of the interpreter.  Please share what these passages mean to you.