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Mature Faith Submits Humbly to God The narrative climax in John Milton’s Paradise Lost is the choice made first by Eve and then by Adam to give in to the serpent’s temptation and disobey God. In Milton’s Paradise Regained, the story’s climax is Jesus’ perfect resistance to the Devil’s temptations in the wilderness (Luke 4:1–13). Christ’s...

Mature Faith Understands God’s Justice In his commentary on James, Douglas J. Moo explained that today’s verses condemn a sinful use of wealth. “We cannot avoid the serious reminder about money and possessions that we confront in this text. One of the sins for which God condemns these people is their selfish accumulation of money and things...

Mature Faith Understands What Is Eternal “What a tragic waste,” wrote John Piper in Don’t Waste Your Life, “when people turn away from the Calvary road of love and suffering. All the riches of the glory of God in Christ are on that road. All the sweetest fellowship with Jesus is there. . . . All the deepest discoveries of God’s Word. All...

Mature Faith Accepts God’s Word In Redeeming How We Talk, Ken Wytsma and A. J. Swoboda write: “Next to prayer, listening is perhaps the best way to create a positive context for conversation. Listening forces us to exchange hats with others, to walk in their shoes. When we exchange hats, we develop empathy and understanding. Then we can more...

Mature Faith Does Not Pursue Selfish Pleasures The first sermon in American history was preached at Plymouth, Mass., on December 9, 1621 by Robert Cushman, a deacon and Puritan leader. His text was 1 Corinthians 10:24, “No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.” In his sermon he warned against “swelling pride, self-love and...

Mature Faith Does Not Pursue Worldliness “What a friend we have in Jesus,” a classic hymn rejoices, “all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!” Who wouldn’t want our loving...

Mature Faith Makes Plans in Humility Jesus once told a parable about a rich man whose economic endeavors were going quite well—so well, in fact, that he didn’t have enough room to store all his wealth. He made plans to build more barns and congratulated himself: “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” God evaluated the situation differently:...

Mature Faith Is Patient and Expectant What will Judgment Day be like? Popular culture and media have answered this question in many colorful ways. Nuclear bombs will destroy us in a series of radioactive mushroom clouds. A computer system meant to defend us will become sentient and attack humanity. A pandemic or modern-day plague will sweep...

Silence and Spiritual Walk: The Quiet Strength of Faith In To Know as We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey, Parker J. Palmer wrote of his efforts to establish a discipline of silence in his classrooms: “Eventually my students feel a sense of community in the silence that is deeper than what they feel when the words are flowing fast...

Mature Faith and Good Deeds: Example of Abraham How do we know Abraham had faith in God? Scripture tells us we know it by what he did (Heb. 11:8–19). He left his home to go to an unknown country. He trusted God to keep a humanly impossible promise to give him and Sarah a son. He was willing to sacrifice that son at God’s instruction. His...