Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Being a follower of Christ takes work and, honestly, sometimes I don't want to put in the effort. I sat next to a new family at church tonight and found myself jealous of the infant who just sat in the sling attached to his mother and slept through the service. Right now, this infant doesn't have to worry about money or relationships or career choices or eternal things - he is completely dependent upon his parents for everything. I realize that in the spiritual analogies regarding infants given in scripture (see verses above), we aren't supposed to be infants. We're supposed to move from milk to meat in our spiritual understanding. But, just like babies, the comfort of the womb and the ease of dependency can't last. We have to go through growing pains as we are given more knowledge that increases our awareness and responsibility. We can't naively go through life without building up our vigilance against the enemy and our desire to serve God.
The last two days I didn't want to think about eternal things, I wanted to be selfish and I was. But the remorse of that decision has set in and I realized how foolish I was to try and be an infant again when there is no going back. But it's okay. I don't really want to be a spiritual baby again, the work that is required as I grow up in my faith is worth the reward of seeing others around me grow up and help teach others to walk.
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