It was a cold night around the campfire. It was a good night to talk about summer. Dave told the kids that summer was his favorite time of the year. Summer is exciting because everything in nature is growing toward maturity.
Plants that poke through the dead leaves on the ground in the spring will grow to their full height and many will have flowers in beautiful colors. After the flowers are gone, the plant will produce seeds so that more plants can grow in the future.
Trees grow taller and a little wider. Their leaves provide shade for all the other plants, animals, insects and birds in the forest. Trees also produce seeds so that other trees can begin growing. Some seeds from trees, such as nuts, as good for food, and feed animals and people.
Insects also go through their life cycle in the summer. Monarch butterflies are unique insects, they need to go from a caterpillar into a cocoon, emerge as a butterfly, and mature enough to migrate to Mexico.
Birds must raise their babies, teach them to fly, and prepare them to migrate to a warmer climate when winter comes.
Baby animals, such as foxes, must grow, mature, and learn to hunt good enough to survive in the winter. Animals that sleep during the winter must raise their babies, and those babies must grow up and store enough fat in their bodies so that they can survive the next winter.
All living things in the forest must grow and mature during the summer or they will not survive the harsh conditions during the next winter. Nature does this automatically; trees, plants, insects, birds, and other animals all grow, mature, and prepare for the future.
When a person believes in Jesus, prays and asks Jesus to forgive their sins and come into their life and take control, they begin the summertime of their time on earth. They are a baby believer, and they need to grow and mature so that they are prepared for the future.
In the Bible in II Peter 3:18 it says:
Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In the Bible in I Thessalonians 3:12-13 it says:
And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May He, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all His holy people. Amen.
Believers need to grow in grace, knowledge, love, blamelessness, and holiness. Unlike things in nature, believers have a choice about growing. A believer does not automatically mature as a believer, they must choose to grow and commit to doing the things that will help them grow such as: reading the Bible, prayer, focusing our thoughts on God, listening to good teachers and pastors, and avoiding sin.
In the Bible in Hebrews 5:12-14 it says:
You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s Word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
Choosing to grow up as a believer is not an emotional decision, it needs to be a decision that is made with your full determination and commitment. Make that commitment today, and ask God to help you to not give up, but to continue on and become a mature believer!