When I was a very young boy, we moved to a new house. It had a rope swing and a tree house, as well as a traditional metal swing set with a ladder and slide. The rope swing was tied 20 feet up on a tree branch, the rope was 3 inch hemp and on the end was a large knot to sit on. I wanted to try it. My little hands were too small to hold it well, it was very rough on my tender preschool skin, and it was so thick it was hard to make it swing, and I fell off. So, I stuck to the safer traditional swing set. The tree house was about 8 feet high and the homemade ladder was nailed to the tree. At the top of the ladder there was a hinged hatch door you had to push up to get inside, then close it again so there was no hole in the floor. Several times I would get brave enough to climb the ladder, but wasn’t strong enough to push the solid wood hatch door open. So, I often just played on the swing set ladder and slide. When I got a little older and stronger, I decided I was ready to attempt the tree house again. I was so determined to get into the tree house that day. I climbed the ladder and pushed hard against the door. It opened but not enough to stay open and it slammed back down knocking me head first off the ladder. When I woke up, my sister was checking on me. I had a terrible headache and was so dizzy. Eventually, I conquered both the tree house and the rope swing and had hours of fun on both. Soon, the traditional little swing set had little thrill for me. I had grown up in my adventures.
God designed us for growth. When Paul is teaching the early church about love, he makes it clear we are supposed to grow up in the ways we love people. Learning to love other people is challenging. Our natural bent is to love and take care of only ourselves like a child. Growing up in how we love people requires that we do some hard things. Paul reminds us: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–8 NIV11) He then goes on to say that we need to grow up in our relationships with people around us. He says, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”(1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV11) It is hard to be patient, kind, and humble when others are aren't being kind to us. It's sometimes hard to celebrate when others do well when they are flaunting it. It is also hard to forgive people, protect them rather than try to be better than them. It is challenging to hang there, when relationships get really tough. It's time for us to grow up and enjoy grown up relationships that can be difficult sometimes.
Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!
