Mark Matlock - Wisdom On ... Growing in Christ

ZONDERVAN

Wisdom OnGrowing in Christ
Copyright 2008 by Mark Matlock

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ePub Edition August 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-86756-2

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Matlock, Mark.

Wisdom on growing in Christ / by Mark Matlock.
p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-310-27932-7 (pbk.)

1. Christian teenagersReligious life. 2. Spiritual formation. 3. Spirituality. 4. Spiritual lifeChristianity. I. Title.

BV4531.3.M396 2008

248.8'3dc22 2008027442

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Interior design by David Conn

DEDICATION

T o my wife Jade. This is the sixth book in the Wisdom On series, and if anyone has felt the weight of this book it has been her. You are the perfect help to me, as I hope I am to you. I enjoy each day we have to make God known together.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I d like to thank the many people who helped with this volume in the Wisdom On series: Randy Southern, for excellent editing and feedback; Holly Sharp, for the cool covers; Roni Meek and Jay Howver at Youth Specialties; and Brad Taylor, who had to correct my spelling and punctuation. Id also like to acknowledge my interns, Aaron Giesler, Matt Johnson, Jill Miller, and April Stier, for their conversations with me about wisdom that added to the development of this book. Also to Josh Meares, my research assistant, who helped me get the last few chapters out the doorthank you!

UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MATURING CHRISTIAN

I ll be honest. This is a hard book to write.

Theres nothing more important than our relationship with God. But after 33 years of being a Christian (its okay, you can say it: Im old), Im still learning how to grow in Christ.

Right now you may be thinking one of two things:

1. Who is this guy to write a book if he still doesnt have it all figured out after 33 years?

OR

2. Phew! This guys been learning for 33 years, and he still doesnt believe he has it all figured out. Maybe Im not in such a bad place after all. Maybe I can learn some things from this Mark Matlock guy that can prevent me from making some of his mistakes.

If you lean more toward the second line of thinking, then join the club. I never trust anyone who believes he has it all figured out. In fact, I believe thats almost a certain sign that hes probably missing quite a bit.

I dont have it all figured outbut Ive learned a lot in my 33year walk with Christ. Some of those learning experiences were pleasant, while others werenot so much. (Lets just say Ive learned a lot of things the hard way.) My prayer is that by reading about some of the things Ive discovered along my journey, you might save yourself some pain and maybejust maybehelp yourself mature in Christ more quickly.

Someone once said that learning from our mistakes makes us smart, but learning from other peoples mistakes makes us wise. So I invite you to learn from my pain so you wont have to experience it yourself!

A NEW CREATION

I love new things. I love the smell of a new car or a freshly painted home with new carpet. I love Christmas and birthdays because I typically receive new clothes. In video game stores, Im always looking for new experiences.

I like new things, and so does God. Our spiritual journey begins with a new work that God does in our lives. Second Corinthians 5:17 describes it this way: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

The Bible teaches us that when we put our trust in Jesus, we become a new creation. Spiritually speaking, we arent what we once were.

But whats changed?

In spiritual terms, weve been born again. But thats a hard concept to get my head around. I look at it as though something mysterious and supernatural has taken placesomething that gives me the opportunity to grow spiritually. As a result, I have a chance to do new and incredible things with my lifeopportunities that werent available to me before. I can walk closely with God in a real relationship, I can have healthier relationships with people, and I can feel good about whom God made me to be.

It may be a mysterious process, but when I put this new me to the test, I see that I have the ability to make a difference in the world that I never could have made before.

Before I knew Jesus, I was lost. But now Ive been rescued, and that allows me to live a new lifea life that looks more and more like the one Jesus lived.

A NEW CITIZENSHIP

In addition to making me a new creation, my relationship with Christ gives me a new citizenship. I may be a dweller of the earth, but my home is now in heaven.

Its likely that you were born in a hospital in a particular town. But if youre a follower of Christ, youre not from that town anymore. Now youre from heaven. You no longer belong to the world you were born into: But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20). This means that our new home is a place weve never visited, and thats kind of strange.

I have a friend whos Canadian, butwith the exception of her first two yearsshes lived in the United States all her life. When she was in high school, her family decided to move back to Canada. The people in the Canadian province she came from spoke mostly French, but my friend knew very little of the language. So while she was still in the States, she began learning about the place where she was bornincluding the language and culture of the people living there.

Thats kind of what growing in Christ is like. Our citizenship is in heaven, but weve never been there. So Christ came to show us what that kingdom is all about. He told us that while were away from heaven, we have a responsibility to live as though were in our true home.

A NEW CULTURE

Being new creatures and having a new citizenship sets us apart from the rest of the world. It makes us different. We no longer think and act like everyone else does. We belong to a different culture. And our new culture encourages us to be good and loving toward others and to do what is right.

While something mysterious and supernatural has taken place inside our lives, which is solely the work of God, the Bible also talks about our need to actively think and live differently because we are new. This new way of thinking and living is what well be discussing in this book because Gods Word makes it clear that we are willful participants in this aspect of our new lives.