Mature thinking...

Hi friends,

I came across this verse in 1 Corinthians 14:20 a while ago and it really struck me:

"Do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature."

There are some things we are supposed to be childlike in: this verse tells us clearly that one of those things is evil. We are also supposed to be childlike as we come to Jesus (Matthew 18:3-4) and we are to find our identity as children of God (Ephesians 5:1, 8). But there are also important aspects of life in which we need to be mature. One of those is in our thinking.

When I was meditating on this concept of maturity in thinking, two images came to mind that could illustrate this. One is solid and strong trees that have grown and been established over many years, which cannot be blown down in the storms of life and continue to provide shade to others. The way we think needs to develop in like manner. Mature thinking takes time to learn and develop, but when it has flourished and been established, it guards us from being blown around by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14) and it provides wisdom and protection for others.

The other image was that of a butterfly. The process of transformation a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly includes a lot of hiddenness and shedding of old skin. The result is a creature that is no longer bound to the earth, but can fly through the air with beauty and grace. In reflecting on becoming mature in our thinking, I realised that this process involves being hidden in Christ, and often times hidden away from the spotlight of prestige and the world's accolades. It also includes shedding old ideas and ways of thinking that belong to childhood (oh how I've been learning this painful lesson over the past two years as I have studied theology!). The result though, after the hiddenness and loss of old identity, is a wondrous new ability to fly like never before, and to demonstrate the exquisite beauty of God's wisdom when lived out on a daily basis.

I used both the butterfly and tree images on my page (from Made New and Thrill of Hope) and created the text from the new Sweet & Simple Alpha as well as His Love. The background was created using gelatos and blended them with a baby wipe. I added some subtle background texture using a couple of stamps from Texture Tiles 1. Here are the sets I used:

Can I encourage us all to embrace God's work in our life in bringing us to maturity in our thinking? We can be intentional about this call in the way we occupy our minds and what we feed them daily. Food for thought? I think so!

x Amy x