Let me start by stating the obvious difference between being a baby Christian and having a little child mentality.
Jesus, in Matthew 18:3, revealed another shocking fact about what it takes to gain access to the Kingdom of God...
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you CHANGE and BECOME LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Studying the kind of life children live will bring home the exact lesson Jesus was trying to pass across to us in Matthew 18:3.
Children are known to be magnanimous in attitude. No matter what you do to offend them. In few seconds to minutes, they will come right back to play with you as if you've not done anything wrong.
In addition, children as little and primitive as their brains are, they know when one is going through bad times. As soon as they discover the bad state of someone close to them, they begin to share the feelings of the person.
This is why they cry when they see their siblings crying even though they don't understand the cause of their siblings tears.
They are happy when their parents are happy and sad when their parents are sad.
Of course, if I have to start mentioning all the qualities inherent in children, one post won't be enough to bring home my point.
Possessing all the good qualities in children will guarantee an easy entry to the kingdom of God.
However, as endearing as children are, there are some traits in them that a matured christian must not exhibit, else such a person will not be in good position with the Almighty God.
How do I mean?
Every little child you come across in any part of the world possesses this trait called IMPATIENCE.
They dislike to wait for too long to get something they desire.
They want whatever they want at the same time they want it. No amount of explanation will suffice when a child begins to express his or her state of impatience.
Mind you, as much as the Almighty God loves children, he abhors impatience.
God's Friend Was Impatient
From Genesis to Revelation, I've searched, times without number, for other friends of God, but out of the 47 Bible verses in which the word friend was mentioned, only two verses directly called someone's name as friend to God.
The first one is Isaiah 41:8...
“But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.
While the second one is James 2:23...
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
Henceforth, once I mention the friend of God, you will know the person I referred to is no other person than Abraham.
In fact, Father Abraham should be considered a lucky man for not losing his friendship position with God after exhibiting this trait God dislikes so much, an impatient trait.
Grace is different indeed. For the fact that one man escapes the dare consequence of his actions does not mean another man will escape it.
To God, even as his child, all sinful acts attract an equivalent punishment. So, no sinner can go unpunished.
To buttress this point, Father Abraham once lied about the identity of his wife, Sarah. He told King of Gerar that Sarah was a sister to him.
As if lying on his part was not enough, he convinced his wife to do likewise.
Surprisingly, God showed up in the night to fight for both of them after doing what God abhors.
In the same fashion, one will think if God can support them after a wrongful act, why won't he support another child of his.
Come Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11, they lied in their quest to support the work of God, and they died instantly.
Can you see what I'm talking about?
The duo who lied ONCE to support God's work lost their lives to untimely death as a consequence of their sinful act while the duo of Abraham and Sarah who were just on their own did not suffer for a second for lying TWICE.
That confirms my previous statement: For the fact that one man escapes the dare consequence of his actions does not mean another man will escape it.
Moving on to the impatient friend of God...
Genesis 12:1-2
Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing
Abraham was 75 years old when God made that promise of becoming a great nation to him.
After that time, Abraham waited for 10 years for the promise to come to pass. It was taking too long than they expected.
At the 11th year when Abraham was already 86 years old, Sarah convinced him to meet with her maid, Hagar, so that they could raise up a child from her.
Out of impatience, Abraham accepted and Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Thereafter, God revealed to them that what he intended to achieve in the world through Abraham's seed would not manifest in the live of the child he impatiently brought to the world.
So, another waiting period began...
They thought 10 years was too much to wait for God; this time around, again, they waited for another 10 years plus 4 years, making 14 years after giving birth to Ishmael, before the promise child, Isaac, came to the world.
In all, they waited for 25 years before they set their eyes on the promise child, Isaac.
Had it not been for uncommon grace, Abraham would have been severely punished for that trait of impatience, which is commonly seen in children.
King Saul offered sacrifice out of impatience
To understand what I mean, see what God did to King Saul after offering sacrifices Prophet Samuel was supposed to offer out of impatience.
1 Samuel 13:11-14
And Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash,
12 then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.' Therefore I FELT COMPELLED, and OFFERED A BURNT OFFERING."
13 And Samuel said to Saul, "YOU HAVE DONE FOOLISHLY. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
14 BUT NOW YOUR KINGDOM SHALL NOT CONTINUE. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."
King Saul lost his kingdom to that singular mistake birthed by impatience. That kingdom, of course, was what God wanted to establish forever before impatience on the part of Saul changed God's mind.
In no time, God substituted him with David, a man after God's heart.
Going back to my previous point, Father Abraham, too, like King Saul, was impatient and try to help God fulfil his promise so that he could achieve his purpose. Fortunately for him, he lost nothing after exhibiting that trait.
In fact, the product of his impatience — Ishmael — was blessed.
A sign of immaturity in the christendom
Galatians 5:22-23
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
From the Bible verse quoted above, Apostle Paul made it clear to us that patience is a fruit of the holy Spirit.
Consequently, any child of God who lacks this great virtue is yet to have the Holy Spirit in him.
This means one can be child of God and lack the presence of the Holy Spirit in him or her.
If you remember the experience of the newly convert Ephesian Christians, you will know and accept the fact that one can be truly born again without having receive the holy Spirit.
Acts 19:2-7
he said to them, "DID YOU RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN YOU BELIEVED?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism."
4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when PAUL HAD LAID HANDS ON THEM, the HOLY SPIRIT CAME UPON THEM, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
7 Now the men were about twelve in all
Take note, at any point in time you see anyone who is born again and yet to receive the Holy Spirit, what you are seeing then is we call BABY CHRISTIAN.
Mind you, this stage of Christianity can last for several years for those who do not care much about spiritual growth.
Onward....
The moment someone receives the holy Spirit, he or she is no longer a baby Christian but a matured christian who feeds on the meat of the word of God.
Hebrews 5:13-14
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a BABE. But STRONG MEAT belongeth to them that are of FULL AGE, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Mind you, don't let anyone deceive you. It is by their fruit that you shall know them.
Receiving the Holy Spirit is not by shouting after being drenched in the inspiration of Sunday worship song.
Consequently, to know that someone has receive the holy Spirit, truly, you will see that he or she will find it easy — very easy — to speak in tongues without being taught by anyone.
In addition, after that time, all the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit, as seen in Galatians 5:22-23 will be seen in the life of the person:
- love,
- joy,
- peace,
- patience,
- kindness,
- goodness,
- faithfulness,
- gentleness, and
- self-control
Notably, all these aforementioned attributes cannot be faked. If one does not possess the holy Spirit, he or she will find it difficult to control himself or herself in the things of the world.
Similarly, such a person will not be patient, kind, faithful, gentle or even be good to people around him or her.
As soon as you discover the absence of these traits in your life as a Christian, it is then time to ask for the Holy Spirit to come upon you in prayer or seek a man of God to lay hands on you that you might receive him, I mean the holy Spirit.
Hallelujah!
Amen.
Bible Question
how to develop the fruit of the spirit?
The only way to develop the fruit of the Spirit when they start manifesting in your life is simply to stay away from sin as Holy Spirit cannot dwell in an unholy place.
what does longsuffering mean in the fruit of the spirit?
Longsuffering is the same thing the Bible calls patience.
how to deal with impatience?
Pray about it and always read up the Bible stories relating to Impatience so that the consequences of impatience can stay glued to your mind... Like that of King Saul and Samuel story of offering sacrifice out of impatience (1 Samuel 13:11-14) and Abraham and Sarah's story of birthing a child through Sarah's maid out of impatience (Genesis 16).
where is the fruit of the spirit found in the bible?
You will see all the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.
how many fruit of the spirit are there?
They are 9 fruit of the spirit in total:
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-control
what is the purpose of the fruit of the spirit?
It helps us to know those who possess the Holy Spirit truly, as the Bible states that by their fruit you shall know them.
what are the fruit of the spirit?
They are virtues seen in any life of any born again Christian who is filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit.
how old was abraham and sarah when isaac was born?
Abraham was 100 years old while Sarah was 90 years old when they gave birth to Isaac.
how many children did abraham and sarah have?
For Abraham and Sarah, they had only one child who was Isaac. However, Abraham had other children through Hagar and Keturah. 1 child from Hagar and 6 from Keturah.
how were abraham and sarah related?
Abraham married the daughter of his father who was birth by another woman not related to him (Genesis 20:12).
who is the father of abraham?
The father of Abraham was Terah who was a son to Nahor, all descending from Shem, son of Noah.
who is father abraham?
Father is the father of faith who got married to Sarah through whom Isaac the promise child came to the world.
where in the bible does it talk about patience?
They are so many Bible verses relating to patience. Here are some of them: Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 12:12; Psalm 86:1; Romans 8:23-25; Proverbs 14:29; 2 Peter 3:9; Ecclesiastes 7:8.
_20240903_170615_0000.png "King Saul after offering sacrifices Prophet Samuel was supposed to offer out of impatience.")
