Moments Matter

When you first became a Christian, what were you taught to do as a new believer to grow in your faith? If you are like me, that list included things like read my Bible, pray, go to church regularly, give the tithe, share the Gospel with others, etc. These are all important habits to develop as we learn to follow Jesus and obey His calling on our lives.

However if we’re not careful, it is easy for us to fall into a pattern of merely checking the boxes on our list of spiritual “to-do’s,” wrongly thinking God is more or less pleased with us depending on how consistently we “perform” or do the right things. We often forget that we can never earn God’s love and acceptance, yet we live as if we must … how exhausting! It can be so easy to overlook the lavish generosity of God’s sacrifice for us on the Cross and the resurrection power He provides as we learn to walk with Jesus and grow in maturity as His children.

The word mature is defined as “fully developed” or “having reached the most advanced stage in a process.” Maturity is often linked to ripeness or fruitfulness, when it comes to the Christian life. The more closely we walk with Jesus and pattern our lives after His, the more spiritually mature (ripe/fruitful) we become. It’s important to remember that becoming spiritually mature is a process, but it doesn’t happen overnight. I love this paradox … spiritual maturity (the most advanced stage in the process of becoming more like Jesus) is a continual emptying myself of “me,” and being filled up continually with His Holy Spirit, which is both the power source of salvation and the power source of sanctification. As we see in 2 Peter 1:3-4, we may “participate in the divine nature” as we rely on His provision of “everything we need for a godly life” – this process is ours to pursue eagerly and diligently, and His to generously empower and grow in us, for His glory. This is the abundant life God invites us to experience and share, and when the community of Christ followers lives like this, the world changes as God’s redemption story unfolds.

Living generously is one unmistakable mark of Christian maturity. To become Christlike is to become a radically generous person, an image-bearer of the God who made us! Biblical generosity certainly involves financial generosity, but it’s really about our whole lives. Part of the discipleship journey is learning to become a giver instead of a taker in all the moments of life that God provides us. The more we submit to the moment by moment leading of our loving Savior, the less our eyes remain fixed on ourselves, and the more free we become to share His life and love with others, moment by moment, day by day. Moments matter. Let us seize them all with Kingdom generosity as the rhythm of our lives. After all, it is well with our souls!

Alan Roseman and his wife, Ashley, grew up in Tyler and are now raising their five active kids in their hometown. The Roseman’s are members of First Baptist Church Tyler, graduates of Baylor University and now enjoy living and working near family and friends. As a young adult, the Lord ignited a passion in Alan’s heart for serving, teaching, and leading people to experience God’s heart for stewardship and generosity. Alan is blessed to get to live out that calling both professionally (as a business owner and financial advisor) and personally (through church and community involvement).