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 Corinthians 13:10
What does spiritual growth look like? Is it up and to the right? Or is it more complex than that?
Many people of faith take cues from the world around us to help explain spiritual maturity. But those metaphors are not always the most helpful because the kingdom of God doesn’t operate like the kingdom of the world. The kingdom of the world rewards the proud and punishes the humble. The kingdom of the world uplifts the bold and cuts down the meek. Gains are sometimes losses and losses can be gains. Maybe the goal of spiritual growth is not to go up and to the right. In fact, spiritual growth is not linear at all.