| Greetings in Yeshua!
This letter is a shofar call for those of us who slumber, hobble or are ‘going through the motions’ of worship and life. If you have room for growth and a desire to achieve your full potential, read on.
Scripture admonishes us to be fully alive, created to be sources of life to those around us. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:10 that we are designed by God in Yeshua our Messiah to express our Master Designer in the form of ‘good works’. Good works are not a means to an end, rather the expression of our Creator through our words, actions, relationships and presence. The Body of Messiah finds herself in trouble when she tries to convey the Creator in her own strength, abilities and creativity apart from her Designer. When separated and disconnected from the Author of Life we become stagnant, like a cesspool of stale water unable to sustain life. At this point kindred fellowship absorbs and deprives life, rather than refresh and satisfy others with her presence from Yeshua’s Living Waters.
Solid, unwavering maturity comes from life training and fellowship with others. Gardens develop and flowers flourish when they have the necessary ingredients like fertile soil, sufficient sunlight, conducive temperatures and ample water. Subtract one or more of these ingredients, and the garden suffers loss. Similarly, when we have basic life elements, we prosper and mature. As we receive life from others who are ‘downstream’ from us in age, experience and life training, we develop deep roots to keep us firmly planted and secure. For this reason the ‘Timothys’ out there rely on the ‘Pauls’ to show them how to be strong in the Lord. When we lack essential nutrients, we wither and develop unhelpful coping mechanisms that leave us striving rather than thriving.
Trauma causes people to have marriage problems and difficulty raising their children. There are two types of trauma, one is usually kept a secret (Type B) even though the results are visible. The second kind (Type A) is often unknown by the person themselves but strongly influences marriages, conflicts, divorces and child rearing. Both are deadly. Type A traumas come from the absence of necessary good things we should all receive, things that gives us emotional stability. These absences create difficulties in relationships(1). Type B trauma, on the other hand, comes from bad things such as physical and sexual abuse, natural disasters, combat and war related exposure and so on(2). Trauma and its results, whether noticed or not, saturate our schools, churches, fellowships and neighborhoods - even touching the homes of leaders.
We cannot escape the consequences of Adam and Eve’s fall but we can learn how to grow, recover and prosper with grace, style and poise when life produces pain and adversity. One of the greatest problems of being on the receiving end of trauma and/or deadly/lifeless relationships is the fact that we are left stunted and emotionally bruised with little life to give. Our active process of growth ceases, we are left to run on fumes, limp and go through the motions of life rather than being full of life with our Messiah. “But!” You may say, “I don’t have trauma in my life – I never have, so this letter does not pertain to me.” If you live in this world, you have been introduced to the toxic fruit of sin in the form of trauma and immaturity. If you interact with other people in the Body of Messiah, you see the effects of sin through immaturity, division, gossip, conflicts and outbursts. In fact, the snare of immaturity plagues all of us in one form or another – some more, some less. You cannot afford to overlook this uninviting issue.
Let’s look at Jacob for a moment. We read in Genesis 25:27, So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. (NKVJ) Being a ‘hunter’ in Scripture is not a godly trait, considering Nimrod also was a hunter ‘against the Lord’(3). Hebrews tells us Esau was a fornicator and one brief examination of his life tells us he was unstable, fleshly, restless and interested in satisfying his immediate cravings and lusts(4). Jacob, on the other hand, is described as being ‘mild’. The Hebrew word for mild, tam means complete, finished, sound or whole, to name a few(5). Tam, an adjectival form has a verb that is used in 1 Kings 6:22 to describe the ‘finishing’ of the temple when there was nothing else to add. Some scholars associate tam’s reference to Jacob as descriptive of his maturity. If so, we see a clear picture of what happens when we have maturity versus when we lack. Maturity does not mean we are perfect in the sense of never committing error or sin. Nor does maturity mean we have added value. Rather, maturity refers to being complete in terms of our life stages and accomplished tasks. Children become adults not only because their bodies develop but for the reason they earn their stripes, so to speak. Children must complete specific tasks that enable them to emotionally grow and develop. Explicit traits and behaviors differentiate adults from children. Clearly we recognize an absence when we observe individuals in adult bodies acting like children. Outbursts, rigidity, fearful motivations and addictions are just a few characteristics to look for.
One basic childhood task of maturing is learning what satisfies. When people learn what brings personal satisfaction, they no longer have to invest time and energy eating, drinking, smoking, buying and consuming. From experience adults know what is good for them and what is not and their behavior, choices and witness testifies to this reality. However, the painful failure to learn satisfaction comes awfully close to Esau who was unstable, restless, ‘fleshly’ and devoid of consistency. Among other absences, the lack of maturity causes individuals to act like a different person according to circumstances, environment and people. A ‘dismembered identity’ develops and we no longer live according to our heart. Our experience fails to match our theology, so we keep the two separate. What we believe and what we do detach so who we are at church is different than who we are at home, work or school. Being the same person over time and in all emotions is a clear indicator of maturity and stability.
I want to encourage you to invest in yourself, your family and your congregation. If any of this introductory information sparks a chord with you, please know there are several valuable resources available so you and your people can aim to be complete and thrive. Among these resources are two available forums designed to boost the maturity process in the Body of Messiah. One is the THRIVE Conference, or weekend Maturity Retreats. Information is available at www.care1.org. Both are designed to instill the understanding we all need to purposefully address deficits in our lives as well as our people. These will provoke you and your people to improve and apply necessary ingredients so you, your marriage and your community mature and flourish. Contact me, Chris Coursey at C.A.R.E., Inc. if you would like further information and available resources from books to study guides.
(1)The Life Model, Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You. Page 42
(2) The Life Model, Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You. Page 44
(3) First Fruits of Zion Parasha Toledot, Volume 1 points out this interpretation and the negative connation associated with being a ‘hunter’ both for Nimrod and Esau
(4) Hebrews 12:16
(5) OT:8535 tam (tawm); from OT:8552; complete; usually (morally) pious; specifically, gentle, dear:
KJV - coupled together, perfect, plain, undefiled, upright.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Blessings,
Chris M. Coursey, C.A.R.E., Inc.
9731 South M-37
Baldwin, MI 49304
(231)745-0500
thrivingtoday@yahoo.com
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