27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Colossians 1:27-29
Growing up! There is so much that goes into it growing up. In our journey to maturity most of us experience the childhood, teen, and adulthood journey to maturity. It goes like this: dependence, independence, interdependence. To be a mature adult is to be a person who is able to carry their own load and to share their load and the load of others in relationships of interdependence. Yes, maturity in Christ does that for us relationally with other people as we develop good boundaries and learn to love well.
However, maturity in Christ does NOT venture away from dependence on God. Rather, maturity in Christ is the struggle to move by way of repentance toward God and into belief on Jesus Christ our Lord so we can be fully IN the communion of God through the grace of Jesus. Paul says he labours and agonizes for Christ-ian maturity. Disciple-makers yearn for Christ-like maturity in the lives of the people with whom God has connected them.
Our hyper-individualism in the West definitely works against us sometimes when it comes to maturing as a Christian. We act like “spirituality” is a simple individual pursuit. But that would be counter to the ways of Jesus. While there is much for the individual to do there is also much that we will never “become” in Christ if we are not sharing the venture in the community of believers called church.
I’m so glad through the years that God has blessed me with men and women who followed Jesus and invested their lives in my growth. Someday, well even today, I believe you can be this kind of person “labouring-for-maturity-in-Christ-person” to another growing follower of Jesus!
urbanfoot 
Dear Pastor Craig, as I read your blogs many of them are pertinent to the English Congregation. Do you mind
If I use some or at times all of your thoughts in my messages. One of the struggles that I have in message
Preparation is that I am very direct and sometimes that gets misunderstood by Pastor Yuan. As with the
Seminars you did for us, there is a tendency to misinterpret, my fault not theirs. I have behelpn with them long enough
To have an idea of how they think, and the struggle is how to make a point without it sounding like I’m
Dropping a hammer on them.
From long years of struggles in their homeland the Chinese find it. hard to make commitments and struggle with
Trust, i.e when I suggested having a sign in book so that we could have contact with visitors I was told that
The Chinese would not sign it as until they and sometimes even if they give their commitment to Christ
They will not trust enough to give names or phone numbers in written form. I feel for those who
Suffer from those fears and want very much to help them. I understand that even in friendship on
This side of the world there is a fear that detrimental information may get back to their homeland
And compromise either themselves or their families. Prayer may be the only way, and of course love. Even when
They disapprove of something they seldom say anything even among themselves, just become
Passive resistors in other words there but not really involved.
We had a first Candlelight service this year, Nelson finally got the young people and the little girls involved.
We had a Potluck supper first and people brought friends. There was resistance when I first suggested it
But then both congregations got on board. Nelson even cooked an amazing Turkey, everything would have
Gone like clockwork if not for ice and an accident that gridlocked the roads around us. However
Everyone got to the church, enjoyed a supper and a service. So we were blessed. People sat in small
Groups and did not intermingle, except me, and you know me, language is not a barrier. LOL.
This particular message has points that are appropriate for our young people.
Anyway I would appreciate your allowing the use of these blogs.
We will have you back again, we are still trying to get the plumbing and renos done so I
Hesitate to book anything as we could be in the middle of a mess, so will get back to you after
that part is finished.
Love to you, Ellen and your children.
Sue