16. As I grow and mature spiritually, emotionally and relationally, I will experience and enjoy God’s Kingdom more.

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.) 

Think about the difference between knowledge and maturity. For example, you can know a lot about a sport like football but may not be very good a playing the game of football. You can know much about a person but not be very good at getting along with that person. You can know what self-discipline is yet in some situations fail to do what you know you should. Spend some time reflecting on how well your knowledge of God’s Kingdom lines up with how you live your life-with-God in His Kingdom.

Spiritual growth is often compared to a journey, like a walk to a destination. When you look back on your journey so far, do you see progress toward the destination?

As you think about the destination of your spiritual journey—the abundance of the Kingdom life—how well are you doing? Where are places that you would like more “maturity”—that is, the ability to experience your desires?

If the ultimate goal of our journey is not just to arrive at the destination but to walk your journey in relationship with Jesus, how well is that going for you?

What would it take for Jesus to become more a part of your journey and share more of it with you?

This statement may seem to contradict another statement that says we need to become like children to enter the Kingdom. The point is, though we may need some qualities of a child, we also need to grow in our relationship with God. It is this growth that enables us to more fully participate in and enjoy the Kingdom. Most would agree that we should grow in our Christian life, but there are different ideas of what growth looks like.

I have experienced and pursued things that I thought, or was told, were about spiritual growth, but would now say were not truly indicators of growth—things like a knowledge of biblical information including original languages, a passion to do all I could for Christ, and a devotion to participating in church activities. These things certainly helped me in my journey and played an important role in my growth, but none of these, in my opinion, is an indicator of growth.

I would propose that a maturing follower of Jesus would exhibit signs of increasing spiritual awareness, emotional health, and relational capacity. Spiritual awareness is one’s ability to be mindful of God’s presence in their life, to notice the unseen things that make up the Kingdom of God, to know and understand the ways of God and His Kingdom, and to have some idea of the nature of a spiritual journey.

To be emotionally healthy includes a growing shift from pride to humility, from being self-absorbed to noticing others, from greed to generosity, from envy to love, from fear to hope, from laziness to self-discipline, from extravagance to moderation, and from self-protection to vulnerability. The evidence of a growing relational capacity includes having deep and intimate friendships, not over-performing or manipulating others, being differentiated, not co-dependent or over-attached.

As a person grows in their relational capacity with others and with Jesus they experience a deep, intimate, ongoing relationship with Jesus and an abundant and joy-filled life in God’s Kingdom. This maturing relationship with Jesus enables them to see even more clearly the presence and nature of the Kingdom and to participate in the with-God life. I think this is what Jesus is referring in Matthew 13:12 when He says, “Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” (NIV)