In his little book, Grace: The Truth, Growth, and Different Degrees, Christopher Love, gives ten marks of an immature believer. He does this not to shame but in order to spur on towards growth in Christ. I’ve updated and summarized these. I’ve also put them into a Jeff Foxworthy-esque “You Might Be A…” format.

Hanging from that random tree seemed like a really good idea at the time. I was in eighth grade and our youth group (I don’t think I was actually a Christian at the time) was going through the community singing Christmas carols. I thought it’d be really funny to climb a tree and show off my sweet monkey skills.

Then we got back to the church. I realized my idea wasn’t such a good idea anymore when the youth leader—who I had a great deal of respect for—called me out in front of everyone. He informed me, and everyone else, that I was being observed by the sweet old lady who owned the tree. She was appalled. And I wasn’t representing Jesus well to her. I was acting like an immature little kid.

I was mortified. But it got my attention. I realized that I needed to grow up.

You can decide on your own if that youth leader was correct for calling me out in front of everyone. And those of you who know me in person might wonder if I’ve matured that much since my tree-climbing days. I’m sharing that story today to say that sometimes someone pointing out our immaturity is a great grace in our life. The Spirit uses it as a wake-up call to drive us closer to Christ and desperate for growth. When we realize we are being tossed to and fro we become hungry for the anchor that is maturity in Christ.

In his little book, Grace: The Truth, Growth, and Different Degrees, Christopher Love, gives ten marks of an immature believer. He does this not to shame but in order to spur on towards growth in Christ. I’ve updated and summarized these. I’ve also put them into a Jeff Foxworthy-esque “You Might Be A…” format.

You might be an immature Christian if…

1. You rest too much on your observance of Christian duties (ex: Bible reading, prayer, etc.). “As it is a sign of an apostate professor to call of duty, so it is also a note of a young and weak professor to rest too much upon his duties.”
2. You aren’t able to see the faults in your successes. “A weak Christian does not have clear insight into the close and spiritual failing which cleave to his performances.”
3. You focus your attention on matters of indifference. “Not to know our liberty, and to abuse our liberty, is an argument we have but little grace. Young converts call more things sins than ever God did”

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