Alan Fadling: Notes from my Unhurried Journey

by Jeanne Davis

Continued from Part One:

Why not take a moment again to read Philippians 3:7-17 slowly and reflectively. Here are a few further insights I recently enjoyed about maturity.

We grow more mature in Christ as…

We acknowledge that the Christian life is an ongoing journey we are all still on (12-14). When we measure ourselves by outward advantages or achievements, we can end up either puffed up or beaten down. Either way, our lives can become more about our successes and failures than about Christ’s life and our living and walking in Him. The Christian life is always a journey. Maturity realizes this.

We recognize the primacy of God’s initiative and action in our spiritual lives (12, 15). Whatever it is that I am striving to take hold of in my journey with Christ, I come to more and more acknowledge that He has taken hold of me first. Whatever progress I may make in my journey with Him is a fruit of His calling and His teaching me. If there is anything in my thinking that isn’t in keeping with God’s thoughts or God’s ways, He is graciously committed to making that clear to me. If I am willing to be guided, He is more willing to guide me.

We remember that no one becomes whole and holy alone (17). All of the counsel we’re reading in Philippians 3 is written to a church, not just one Christian. Each of us can gain a great deal of individual benefit from what Paul says, but he’s ultimately talking to a community living a way of life together. We need to see those who have walked a little further than we have. We need to see what faithfulness in the face of great hardship actually looks like in the real life of a more seasoned follower of Jesus. This is what the Philippians had in Paul.