Ready, Aim...Grow.
For most of us in life the goalposts rarely ever stay still. They shift. Sometimes due to external circumstances, factors outside our control. Sometimes it's us who do the shifting. A change of perspective brings new goals, a different journey, something new to aim for.
Think about how you responded to the question 'what do you want to do in life?' when you were under ten years old. Astronaut? Nurse? Lollypop lady? Now how about post the age of ten, did your 'chosen' career change or stay the same?
And if you put behind you the day dreams of managing Arsenal, dancing ballet at Sadler's Wells or walking on the moon, if you pursued a different goal in life then how true was your aim?
Did every step, every academic course, every venture take you a step closer towards your destination? Or did you drift and as you drifted did your goals change as a matter of necessity? From where I am now I can't reach that career, I'll have to choose another?
Sometimes, after a detour, we can end up 'back on course' at other times our original choice of destination seems too hard to reach.
It's important to have a goal, it's also vital to make sure we're actually aiming at it.
We often think of life goals in terms of career and progressing in a certain job. But, as a wise man once said, throughout the Biblical narrative it seems God is rarely concerned with being a careers advisor - although it's a matter that does deeply concern him. It seems God has more important goals for us.
And if we're going to bring young people to maturity in faith then we not only have to mark out the goalposts for them, we have to teach them how to aim as well.
So what does God think constitutes maturity? I love the point that Graham Tomlin makes in his book 'Spiritual Fitness.' He underscores that there are several 'false' goals that we've often highlighted as marks of Christian maturity. Bible knowledge, for instance. Certainly a deep love of scripture is vital to our relationship with God and is a path to maturity but it's not an end goal. Also 'super spirituality' - being able to pray in tongues, prophesy, having spirit led insight when it comes to teaching again can lead to maturity but are not all that we're aiming for.
Similarly being a social activist, campaigning against injustice and expending our energy on behalf of the poor, is highly commendable, is also a path to maturity but not the target.
Time and time again the Bible doesn't pick out any of the above as a goal: when it comes to the goal of maturity its character that counts.
This is a point Paul makes well in 1 Corinthians 13. It's the greatest piece of prose ever written on love and so also one of the greatest passages on maturity. Paul is addressing a church that is missing the point when it comes to Christian community. So it's not about super spirituality, as the Corinthians are in danger of thinking,- hence 'if I speak with the tongues of men and angels...' nor is it about superior insight 'if I can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge...' nor being philanthropic 'If I give all I possess to the poor...'. It's about love and Paul goes on to describe how a character shaped by love does and does not act.
There are lessons to be learnt from Paul in seeking to ensure that young Christians are progressing towards maturity: that they have the right goal of developing character in sight and are aiming well.
Being a bit of a film fan I like to think that Paul's 'aim' within his epistles is to progress his hearers along a positive 'character arc.'
The character arc in most stories charts the journey of a hero or heroine. It marks out what kind of character they are at the start and how they are at the end - depending on their journey. Some films chart meteoric rises, heroes who from humble beginnings become champions overcoming any obstacle thrown their way: the foolhardy novice becomes a knight, as in A Knight's Tale and countless other 'apprentice becomes master' stories, or the naïve Nun becomes a mature mother in Sound of Music.
Some mark deterioration in character, behaviour that leads to downfall or regret, as in the case of Michael Corleone in the Godfather. He starts optimistic and idealistic vowing that he won't become a gangster like his father but after taking up the mantle, the last shot of the Godfather part 2 sees him as an old man in a wheel chair his eyes filled with regret.
Most films, as most stories, follow a tried and tested formula when it comes to plots in order to develop the lead part's character arc. To put it simply most plots have a goal, a journey, and hindrances to that journey.
Firstly the goal - an end target that the hero fixes their sights on. It could be becoming the guru or destroying an all powerful evil ring; finding the man or woman of your dreams or simply making it home in time for Christmas.
Then there's the journey to that goal, how the hero or heroine makes attempts to move forwards and the encounters along the way that help move them towards it or away from it.
More than likely, in order to develop plot tension, there will be a hindrance on the journey to that goal. No film is plain sailing, where's the excitement in that? So the woman wanting to find her perfect man is beset by orcs and goblins, the young hero wanting to bring peace to middle earth finds out his best friend is after the same... hmm perhaps that should be the other way round.
Where is Paul in all this I hear you ask? Now the apostle had obviously never set foot near a Cineplex but you can find the themes of goal, hindrance and journey as he seeks to nurture good Christian character within his nascent church communities.
We've already outlined the goal. Time and again in Paul's letters he outlines good character, not content with simply saying 'be Christ like' he frequently directly contrasts the actions of Godly character over and against action not befitting Christians, often in list form. It's evident in 1 Corinthians 13 but also in passages such as Colossians 3: 5-14 and Galatians 5. 19-26.
And Paul also provides ample polemic against hindrances: those ideas and teachings that prove an obstacle to freedom in Christ. Frequently Paul critiques those who seek to introduce legalistic thinking into the Church and not even the apostle Peter is spared when it comes to removing practise that hinders maturation, Galations 2.11-21.
When it comes to the journey Paul doesn't just mark out the road ahead, he keeps running back to say 'whoah! Keep going! You won't believe what's coming next!' The fuel that fires our engines, that keeps us putting one foot in front of the other when it comes to spiritual maturity is the desire to know Christ.
Paul is the master of encouragement and exhortation. He strives to stir up a righteous jealousy in his readers that they might desire to know Christ as he knows Christ and revel in the treasures of such divine illumination and revelation.
'My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.' Colosssians 2. 2-3.
Which film most closely resembles Paul's depiction of the path to spiritual maturity? An Indiana Jones film suits best. The path to riches is dangerous, full of risk, there are traps to be avoided and the goal is only achieved through personal sacrifice but we keep finding more and more treasure.
When it comes to young people we need to ensure that we present with them the right goals. Good careers, a nice home and 2.4 kids aren't first priorities, Godly character always is. And having marked out the goal we need to encourage them to keep aiming in the right direction. Also can we identify what hinders them? What schools of thinking stop them achieving freedom in Christ outside and inside the church? In an age of scepticism we don't have to look too far.
But most importantly, like Paul, have we travelled the journey before them? Can we tell them stories of our travels with Christ? Show them the scars, tell them 'here be dragons' and where precious jewels can be uncovered?
We may be guilty of having painted Christianity as a pale adventure and this is the real reason our young people leave church. For us spiritual maturity has nothing to do with restraint or a world weariness that douses the flames of youthful enthusiasm. It has everything to do with a flame that burns brighter for having burned longer. May this be our goal and in turn may we, like Paul, be able to say to the young, 'imitate me, as I imitate Christ.' 1 Corinthians 11.
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