by Victoria Sarvadi in Grace & Peace
The time of accountability. What a confusing time in life when one is saying goodbye to childhood and embracing the blessings of becoming an adult.
As we live and experience life, more accurate perceptions and interpretations of realities begin to develop. By the time of bar and bat mitzvot age (12-13) most of young people figure out that there are consequences to every decision that we make. We realize that the happy things, as well as the afflictions and negative events of life, form us and create a sum-total of who we are. We become a grounded constitution of force based on our own conclusions that form our personal ideology. The decisions and opinions that shape our lives are determined by a lifetime of acquired education, impactful experiences, and hopefully divine revelations. The latter, by the way, should always trump the first two.
When God begins to speak to us, He can change our mind about our world. We don’t just live in a physical microcosm but also a dynamic spiritual dimension as well. Because we are born of the Spirit world, we have an existence based on spiritual laws. In fact, spiritual things sound foolish to those who are not born again.
The physical world is governed by our physical senses. This is how everyone perceives reality. But being born again produces in us a new and different nature by which we do not perceive our world by just our physical senses. This new spiritual function which is higher than carnal and fleshly perceptions must never be neglected. It is a powerful sense that necessitates development and maturity.
The younger born-again creatures in Messiah must grow in stature first but also in Spirit. The age of accountability is a right-of-passage, as one must choose to leave childhood follies and develop and exercise spiritual gifts.
Godly, mature born again creatures of Covenant live their lives governed by higher principles that always override or perhaps defy the physical ones. We now live and move and have our being in Him, expecting these new spiritual principles to work and operate just like we have learned gravity (a physical principle) to operate. Sicknesses are healed, oppression or depression have no hold, troubled relationships are mended, opportunities for offenses or self-righteous judgments are not entertained.
I once had a personal experience that doesn’t make sense in the natural. Some years back, a person in leadership at a church I used to attend did something very offensive to me. A few years later someone reminded me of their actions – I couldn’t even remember what they did until I was reminded of the details! I truly believe God can take away offenses where you can’t even remember them!! To have the mind of Christ literally changes the way you think.
To every young person who reads this – Decide now to seek God, He promises you will find Him! And I’m confident that He will guide you into all truth. It is with great joy I welcome you into adulthood and pray God’s very best for you. May His Spirit always be with you and may His Will always find you.
