Not laying again
“Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance” Hebrews 6:1
Not laying again – What does your ship’s log say about progress on your journey? If you feel like you are just going in circles, if you look back over your life and discover that you aren’t seeing new waters under the bow, new horizons each day, then you’re probably caught in the word kataballo. God wants progress. He is not interested in going over the same ground again and again. That leads to stale spirituality. And stale spirituality is withered and useless.
Last week I was in a Bible study in downtown Orlando. Someone raised the question, “Why does the church seem to go over and over the same ground? I want to experience a deeper understanding of God, but it seems like all we get is another version of the salvation message.” Evangelicals are guilty of shallow water sailing. We tend to stick close to shore and return to the dock over and over just to make sure things are OK. How many times have you heard the “gospel” message? That great news needs to be given to those who live outside the family, but for those who belong to God’s family, the course is out over the deep, on to new and uncharted territory. If you’re hearing the same messages over and over, you’ve got your anchors down. The wind can’t carry you away to the ocean when you’re tied to the dock.
Do a little course assessment. God is looking for explorers and adventurers who are willing to venture across the depths. Is the water under your keel getting deeper? Are your sails fuller? Is your spiritual speed toward God’s freedom increasing? Do you wake up to discover that there is no land in sight? Or are you hanging on to the familiar with such tenacity that God can’t budge you out of the harbor? Is your church experience liberating you to venture forth or binding you to it safe-harbor protection?
This verse challenges each of us to ask if we really are leaving the elementary teaching behind and letting God push us out into the deep. What kind of spiritual development can possibly occur if you’re stuck at the beginning? God never intended you to stay close to shore. You know that landscape. It’s time to head toward the New World.
