June 17, 2026 | Be Connected
Maturing in Christlikeness
Scripture: Ephesians 4:14-16(NIV)
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Devotional
This passage is a call to GROW UP! As children, we believed the adults around us. We trusted that if they told us that Santa flew through the air in a sleigh led by nine reindeer plus a red-nosed Rudolph, it was true. If we were told that Santa dropped down the chimney to deliver toys, THEN IT WAS TRUE!
However, as we grew and acquired critical thinking skills, we learned to ask questions. Was it possible for reindeer or a sleigh to fly and even if they could, how could a sleigh carry enough toys for all the children in the world, and if it could and it did, why didn’t Santa bring food to starving children? Why are we giving HIM food and why isn’t he passing out cookies and milk to those kids?
It’s fun to believe these things as children; sharing a fantasy that brings sparkle and goodwill to all but as we get older, we should realize it’s time to stop jumping on sleighs and bandwagons to believe the latest “wind of teaching” blown about by false teachers and their deceitful scheming, as verse 14 tells us.
In these times there are many false prophets, spiritual scammers and social media gurus to confuse and toss us around like waves on a stormy sea. A great number of these false teachings revolve around the love of money and amassing material possessions as if that Santa fantasy were true. We are tempted to think like children and believe these teachings because it sounds exciting. Yay! More toys down the chimney! But shouldn’t we be asking questions?
The disciples, in the boat with Jesus, were afraid of the stormy sea (Mark 4:35-41), so they joined together to awaken him. They asked questions and Jesus immediately silenced the wind and waves. Are you accustomed to joining your brothers and sisters to ask Jesus for help? The wind and waves obey Him and He has entrusted us with His promise to never leave or forsake us. Scripture says, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'" (Hebrews 13:5).
The way to mature in Christ and avoid being tossed around and deceived is to study God’s Word; to get so familiar with it that we can spot the scams and stick to the truth. We need each other to stay on course! Thankfully, as followers of Christ, we are all in the same boat with Jesus, and we know we can trust Him to help us silence the stormy voices if we just ask.
