Mature cheddar apparently takes 15 months to age correctly. Scotch Whisky takes 3 years to mature in oak barrels.
A bottle of aged Chateau Lafite 1787 sold for $160,000 at Christies in London in 1985.
People prize maturity in food, spirits and in wine. But sometimes not in each other. There is an art to ageing and maturity. You can’t expect cheddar to mature in your shed, or Whisky to mature in a bath.
There is a maturing process that has been studied and researched. This must be adhered to for the best outcome. You also can’t expect to be a mature Christian until your faith has come under fire of some kind. So, be encouraged if it is!

Did you know that there is a process laid out in heaven for your spiritual growth and maturity?
There is!
You see, it is the goal of the whole of the heavenly realm that you should become like Christ. And I can’t think of anyone more mature than Him!!
Colossians 1:28 says this:
“He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”

This was the goal of the early church and it is still the goal today.

So, would the people around you describe you as mature?
Are you prone to fits of rage, frustration, depression or confusion? Do you regularly “lose it” or struggle to maintain your faith? Are you calm under pressure or do you fly off the handle, being quick to take offence? Are you swayed by your feelings, or the lastest fads and fashions? Does a face cream advert on TV make you take a walk to the nearest Chemist”¦or smile and carry on with your day?
Where is your security and your confidence? In what God has done and in who He is, or in what YOU have done and in who YOU are?

For where your treasure is, there is your heart”¦

Perhaps you think of yourself as a “mature Christian,” but would your friends and family agree?
What makes a person mature anyway?

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.”
So what habits of yours show spiritual, mental, physical and emotional maturity”¦ or otherwise? If you are not sure, ask someone you love and trust to be straight with you.

What many of us fail to see is that we cannot have spiritual maturity without a healthy level of EMOTIONAL maturity. The way we see ourselves and God is massively intertwined. This is why huge spiritual giants can fall SO hard and so fast. I am sure we are all saddened when we see the lives of precious Fathers and Mothers of faith exposed to the Devil’s schemes. Why does this happen? I think it is lack of REAL maturity, humilty and grace in that person’s life.

2012 was a test for me. It was a trial of my faith and a lesson in humility. It was a time not to take stock of what I had achieved but to realise how far I was from the goals I had set myself. But, do you know what? Every faith HAS to stand trial. Faith HAS to be tested in order to see if it will stand. And I am still standing folks. Allbeit at times somewhat wearily.

Standing in the midst of storm shows us (and the enemy) whether we are immature or mature in God.

In order to gain maturity we must master our emotions and feelings. I am not being funny”¦, this is the hardest thing for me to get right at the moment!! I constantly let my feelings get the better of me. I forget how untrue they can be and what a poor barometer they are of what is really going on! GRRRR!

But it is SO key to get them in check. Why? Well, amongst other things, developing emotional maturity means we will have a healthier view of ourselves -not thinking too highly or lowly of what and who we are. (Put your hand up if you oscillate between despising yourself and thinking you are immensely brilliant? I see that hand. Thank you.)

These things must be in BALANCE for us to be godly men and women. So often they are out of sync. If ever you watch a film and the lip sync is out, it is wildy distracting. You can’t concentrate on what is being said at all. So it is with an immature life, one out of balance. It puts people off God. It distracts them from what He is saying. And terribly too, it puts us off trying to be more like Christ. We become people who say, ” Well what is the point? I keep failing so I might as well give up now!”

I don’t want to do that this year.
I am sure you don’t either.
So let’s take time in this season to get ourselves to a place of greater maturity. Whatever that takes.