Inner Bloom

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

- 1 Cor 13:11

Are you like me, at times feeling like an adolescent stuck in a maturing body. Or have you ever felt like years have passed but you are still the same old, or same young. I used to think and believe that as soon as adulthood steps in, nature's magical wand would swing its magic, and we would grow up to be mature adults who can face the world, brace its tide, and take care of ourselves well enough to extend to others. I was wrong.

I could get caught on the other side of the cloud only, getting more work experience, expanding the working & social capacity, manage work & people so well, having a good laugh on the familiar side of successful people; and upon reaching middle age, came crashing down. The tide of world seems to favour external growth towards the stars, but God may be whispering, the inside counts. Go deeper.

"When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me"

Not an act of nature or by-product of time & environment only, but a verb: "put behind me". Place aside the childish self-serving thoughts & idealisms. Stop whining, don't extend adolescence & excuses. Rise up above culture, not about being Mr Sensitive or Mr Man, but looking towards Jesus as the primary model, where true fulfillment comes in the form of godliness.

Yet not giant leaps, but simple little steps everyday; sowing seeds of patience, diligence, wisdom, kindness, love, sacrifice; surrendering & allowing God to mold us, we find ourselves becoming man - man of God.