THE REASON TO PURSUE SPIRITUAL MATURITY

Philippians 3:20-21 says, "But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." Paul explained why the believers in Philippi must strive for spiritual maturity while living on earth. They are citizens of Heaven, where our Lord Jesus Christ resides. In addition, Jesus, our savior, will return and change our weak physical earthly bodies to heavenly bodies that will never be affected by sickness, age, death, or sin. Our Lord Jesus can do all of these things because He is all-powerful and has all the authority over both heaven and earth. He will someday return and put everything on this earth under His full authority. He will end all wars and false religions. He will judge the false teachers and those who rejected Him as Lord and Savior. 

We must not lose sight of the fact that we are citizens of heaven, where our Lord Jesus lives. We are only living on this earth temporarily. Our final home is heaven; therefore, we need to pursue God and not only think about our life on this earth. Let us not allow our desires and passions for the things of this world to outweigh our love for God. If the things of this world are more important than following God, we must repent and return to pursuing God first. When we pursue our desires, wants, and likes of the things of this world, we are heading in the wrong direction. We are heading to destruction, despair, guilt, and shame. Our God is the only one who can change our lives and give us a bright future. We may age, get sick, or die, but it is not the end of us because God will give us new, glorious heavenly bodies that will be perfect. But not so to those who only think about life on this earth, whose god is their appetite, and brag about shameful things. 

Those who decide to reject God's ways and pursue their worldly desires will only end up in destruction. For those of us who choose to pursue spiritual maturity by embracing humility instead of selfishness, and by avoiding bragging about worldly possessions or solely focusing on earthly life, a remarkable existence awaits us in heaven.

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) Why is it important for me to pursue my spiritual maturity? How do I pursue my spiritual maturity? List all the benefits that I have in Christ Jesus in following Him?

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for making me a citizen of heaven through my faith in my Lord Jesus. Thank you that this world is not my home, but my home is where you live. I am looking forward to receiving my heavenly body that is no longer affected by age, sickness, death, and sin. In the meantime, please help me to pursue my spiritual maturity by continually pursuing to know and experience your power in my life through walking in your ways and obeying you. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.