ChildHood

Hello SPV!
We’re starting a new sermon series on Love this week so we’ll be spending a lot of time in 1 Corinthians 13 & this particular verse has been on my mind lately: “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.” 
If I’m being honest I’m both conflicted and challenged by this verse. On one hand it’s talking about love being the ultimate marker of maturity and yet how well someone walks in love is hardly ever what we associate with “leaving childish ways behind & becoming a man”. A hard worker, responsible, reliable, honest, trustworthy are all traits of a “mature man”... but loving? When i was growing up I never heard anyone say: “you know that John Wayne/Paul Newman/Burt Reynolds/Clint Eastwood is a real man...they’re so loving!” 

And I don’t really think of children as particularly lacking in love either, in fact, we could learn so much from their example of love and faith! 
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With that said, “leaving childish ways behind” is still a worthy challenge and goal when it comes to striving towards things like patience, service, long suffering & sacrifice. I guess the bottom line is that we all should learn lessons from wherever & whomever we can receive them, especially us men who could learn so much from women & kids in this as well as several other categories. And regardless of gender, age, ethnicity....we can & should always be striving towards maturity which don’t forget, looks like Love more than anything else. Much love, Chris.