Growing Up is Hard To Do

"Rules minus relationship equals rebellion"- Josh McDowell

For some of us it takes a really long time before we actually grow up. And one of the biggest obstacles we need to hurdle before we can grow up is our selfishness.

If any of you follow March Madness then you may be familiar with the Fab Five,the nickname given to the 1991-1994 Michigan basketball team. A recent documentary of this team revealed one player's dislike for another school and one of it's star players. Jalen Rose of the Fab Five explains his frustration of growing up as a poor black child in the inner city. Jalen's father,who left his mother prior to Jalen's birth,became a successful NBA player but never had a relationship with his son.

As a college freshman at Michigan Jalen says he despised the players at Duke University and one player in particular,Grant Hill. Even though Hill is of the same race, Jalen envied him for what he had growing up. Grant Hill is the son of Calvin Hill who was an all-pro football player for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970's. Grant grew up in a strong, religious, close-knit family and lived in a wealthy community.

Jalen admits, "I hated Grant Hill for a long time. He had what I should have had. That should have been me."

Jalen Rose felt that he too had a successful father who made it to the pro's and so his life should have been the same as Grant Hill's, but it wasn't. He also goes on to explain during interviews this past week that it has taken him a long time to grow up and realize that he didn't really hate Grant Hill, he only envied what Grant had, which was a relationship with his father.

One day last week my mind began to wander back to the past and everything I had been through and where God has taken me to; which is to a higher level.

Today I feel different. I feel more powerful and less fearful of anything and everything than what I was 2 or 3 years ago. That's what happens in relationships when you finally decide to grow up and put away the selfishness and pride.

Every relationship that we are a part of within our lives is unique.

father-son
mother-daughter
teacher-student
boyfriend-girlfriend
husband-wife
coach-player

And they all play a significant part of our life. But no relationship will work without putting some kind of effort into it and our willingness to want to grow within that relationship.

It is always good to take time out and reflect on where you were 2 or 3 years ago and compare it to where you are now in your relationship with Christ.

So go ahead and ask yourself:

Do I feel more stronger than I did two years ago?

Has my faith reached the point to where it is unshakable?

Does God's Word make me stand firm?

Have I surpassed the believing in God stage and reached the trusting in God stage?

Do I love Christ more? And even more than life itself?

If you find yourself lacking in any of these it doesn't necessarily mean your not growing up. It just means you need to put more into your relationship with God in order for it to grow. And when you do that you will find: an incredible strength and peace, a peace within the trials of life, and you will realize how great God's love is compared to anything this world has to offer.