As ever in these cases, I blame Frank Viola.
I was minding my own business, just reading the occasional blog here and there, when I came across this one from Frank recommending three books from some guy called DeVern Fromke. To put this in context, before Frank, I had never heard of T. Austin Sparks and now he’s a dude I enjoy reading daily. So if it was good enough for Frank, it might not hurt for me to give this Fromke homie a read.
The first book I started reading – and I am still reading it – is Unto Full Stature. I know when I’m onto something, when a book arrests me in its first pages. This book had me hooked right away. Now there are certain sorts of reading hooks books can get me in. There is the ‘I must read on’ hook and then there is the ‘I must stop and let this sink in … and then I must read on’. It is no indictment if you’re one or the other, but it’s fair to say if you’re the latter then you’re likely to be one to be remembered more than the former.
Needless to say (but you’ll know I’ll say it anyway) UFS fell into the latter. I would read a page. Be stunned by the page. Reflect on it over a drink of Orange Lucozade. Read the page to my wife. Discuss it with her. Ponder on it and pray about it. Read its scripture references and their context. Ponder and pray on those. Then crack on with reading more.
As you can tell, this is not the quickest way to read a book, but it’s a fun way. It should also be fairly clear, that I would certainly recommend the book to you – just on the strength of the arrests it has made on me since I started reading it! Why it arrests me, is because it challenges me to suggest that there is more to faith and life than hoping Jesus will save me, rescue me from hell and then set me on a ship to Heaven.
Sure that’s not the first I’ve heard or read of this, but the insights gained from reading the book are wonderful. The sort that make me reflect on life in Christ and praise Him.
For example – and this is the point of the ‘Oh I Get Now’ – take the first letter of John in t’ Bible. One of the areas I’ve had a huge bugbear about is in 1 John 2:12-14.
I have sat through and heard so many people abuse that section of scripture, especially the ‘young man I write to you because you are strong’ bit. It is abused to suggest that if you’re younger than 40, you are strong and virile and should be doing tons of stuff in the church.
Funnily enough, since I was younger, it already occurred to me, that this verse wasn’t addressing an age group as such, and wasn’t about expecting the 15 year-olds to pack up the chairs at the end of church service.
So for years I railed against those who would whip out the verse and beat it over the head of … young men … like me …
Yet in as much as I knew that was not what John was getting at, it took a section of UFS to actually show something that I had completely missed on in understanding this scripture.
A summary of what UFS outlined is that what John is talking about here – who John is addressing – is the different stages of spiritual maturity. There is the childhood stage, where your relationship with the Father is based on what He does for you – being Daddy, forgiving sins. There is the young man stage, where your relationship with the Father is based on what you do for God – overcome the evil one in strength abiding in the Word. There is finally the father stage where the relationship is no longer based on being active or expecting, but relating to a Father as a father as He has been from the beginning.
It never occurred to me that what John outlined in these sections, and how they addressed the church family was one in which different stages of spiritual development could engage with what was being said. That is to say the church family has those maturity stages – or at least they should.
The church family should have those who no longer appeal to God based on what they do, but more on who they know they are based on who they know Him to be. They enjoy just being – no longer looking to impress by doing, certainly not looking to just feed like a child waiting for Daddy.
The implications of this and reflecting on that in the light of my experiences was seismic. Maturing in Christ – growing into the fullness of His stature – being more like Him, is so pivotal to Body growth, that its lack can have effects on churches. People can remain stunted in their growth because those ‘ahead’ of them have not actually matured that much at all. Bit like how the writer of Hebrews suggests that his audience should have been mature to take on some stuff, but were actually still at the milk stages.
It made me sad to think about the fellowships I’ve engaged with where the fathers were notable by their absence, even though there were brothers and sisters who had ‘been with the Lord’ for decades. Sobering thoughts – motivational thoughts.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 