Daily Devotional for Sunday, October 16 

A Challenge to Believers

We have probably all had coworkers who have been with a company doing a certain job for years, and yet we wonder just what they have been doing for those years, because they just do not seem to know very much about their jobs. They are no more competent after ten years than the new guy just off the street! Clearly, this is an unusual and totally unacceptable situation. It is not the way things ought to be. Sadly, we see this same sort of thing in our churches today. Some folks have professed to believe, and yet they have no more knowledge of God’s Word after years than they did when they first believed. This too is totally unacceptable and not the way things should be. 

In the narrative, John’s references to little children, fathers and young men (verses 12, 13) does not seem random or accidental in God’s Word. They all mean something. One school of thought on these patterns of words is that John is addressing different levels of spiritual development in bodies of believers. Clearly, there are various levels of spiritual maturity among those in our local churches. We are not all at the same place of growth. 

Why do some grow, and some do not? Some people are simply not motivated to start. That is not much different than those in our secular workplaces. On the other hand, many fail to grow and thrive as Christians because no one takes the time to nurture and teach them. As children who are not nurtured fail to thrive, Christians who are not nurtured also fail to thrive. That is a major reason we see spiritually malnourished believers. Who will you nurture today?

JUST A THOUGHT: When a brother falls, do we help them up or step on their head as we run by?

Wally Fry