Hebrews 6:1a  Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity…

When we are born again, God does an amazing work in us.  We become new creatures in Christ Jesus.  Old things pass away and all things become new.  Many of us experience remarkable transformations in our lives that impact behavior, thinking and speaking.  The Lord becomes the most important thing in our lives.  We are His, but in terms of living our lives here on earth, we have not arrived – we are merely beginning.

Have you ever considered the perspective that Christianity involves a skill set to be learned and lived?  Foremost it is a relationship with our Lord, but that relationship with Him and with others has requirements of us.  Some we find easier than others to meet.  Some we really struggle with because of the ongoing work that the Lord must do in our lives.  Although we are new in Christ, it’s amazing the lifetime supply of ‘stuff’ we have in our lives that God will bring to our attention and help us deal with.

Our Christian walk is to become more and more like Jesus.  We need to know what that looks like. All too often we think we know but we don’t.  Think a moment about it in terms of carpentry.  It is a learned skill.  Items must be smooth to the touch – no splinters!  How often in our lives are we prickly or ripe with splinters in our interactions with others – and we might even be totally unaware of it.  Some areas of our lives are in need of reconstruction by the Master Carpenter – while others He is putting His finishing touch on.

Change doesn’t all happen overnight in terms of our behavior; it’s a life-long transformative process with the Holy Spirit working with us.  When the scripture says that they will know we are disciples of Jesus by our love for one another, it’s talking about how we live – how we act and talk.  What attitudes do we demonstrate?  Do we have a servant’s heart?

We rejoice both in conforming to His word, and in His dealing with us where we have far to go.  Jesus is our focus.  I remember the slogan of the Zenith Corporation, ‘The quality goes in before the name goes on.’  The same is true of us but with a twist.  We receive the quality within us in Christ.  It’s how we live that reflects our name – whether we are truly followers of Jesus.