Religious Maturity is about a lot of things. (Doing the rituals, knowing the Bible, praying the prayers, believing the beliefs…) But Spiritual Maturity is—in its very essence—only about one thing.
What is that one thing?
According to Jesus (Read Matthew 25), on Judgment Day, God won’t ask, “How many hours did you pray?” or “How much Bible did you read?” or “How many doctrines did you master?” On Judgment Day, Jesus said God will only ask one question: What did you do to the least of my brethren?
Let me declare this to the housetops: Spiritual Maturity is Loving Like Jesus.
The Bible says it so bluntly: If anyone says “I love God,” but keeps on hating his brother, he is a liar. (1 John 4:20 TLB)
Love Rewards!
Truth: Spiritual Maturity is being true to who you really are.
Why?
I believe You Are love.
Love is your identity.
Love is your nature.
Love is your character.
Love is who you are!
Why do I say that? Because you’re made in the image of God. And the Bible says that God is Love. (1 John 4:8) Ergo, you are too!
That is why when you do not love, you destroy who you are. You warp your very existence.
Think about it: When you hate, your immune system virtually shuts down, and your body surrenders itself to invading germs and diseases, welcoming ulcers, hypertension, and cancer. Because you’re not made for hate, indifference, and selfishness.
Look around you. Selfish people are the unhappiest people in the world. And loving people are the happiest.
Why does that happen?
Because when you love, you act according to who you are—thus, you connect yourself to the Spirit—your essence. You connect yourself to the Divine Flow in you. You connect yourself to God’s Supply Room of peace, blessings, power, abundance, and happiness.
God’s Pays You Interest
Listen to what the Bible says: When you help the poor you are lending to the Lord—and he pays wonderful interest on your loan! (Proverbs 19:17 TLB)
Did you get that?
When you give to the poor, you know the poor won’t pay you back. That’s actually great news! Because that means God will repay you—with an out-of-this-world interest!
My story: I’m enjoying so much blessings right now. And I believe that what I’m experiencing now is partly the harvest of what my parents planted a long time ago—all their life, they were very generous. Poor people would come to the house and my mother would listen to them, help them, and tell them about Jesus.
And one of the specific ways God blesses us when we help the poor is that He blesses our businesses. As the Bible says, Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. (Deuteronomy 15:10 TLB)
Finally, God gives us with Eternal Rewards: Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a dinner,” he said, “don’t invite friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors! For they will return the invitation. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who can’t repay you.” (Luke 14:12-14 TLB)
The Bible also says, “Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that don’t wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them (Luke 12:33 GNT).”
You are love. Love like Jesus!
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
