One Anothers Part IX: The Real Test of Maturity
- Dr. Victor Stanley
- May 26
- 2 min read
These past posts have been about One Anothers. The question becomes, how exactly are we to accomplish this idea of moving into a One Another state of being? I mean, don’t we have enough things to work on? Sometimes, just getting to church is a chore. Now you want me to be a One Another? How bout I just be one unto myself, rather than to another? Please don’t give me something more to do!!!!
The truth is, I have not given us more to do. God did. Here is His formula for doing it:
I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (reasonable service). Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2
Scholar Douglass Moo states that “These verses summarize what the Christian response to God’s grace, through Christ, should be.” It’s going to take work. Some people spend more time trying to figure out how to get out of work rather than working to serve. They may have been transformed by Christ, but not fully transformed in their behavior. Otherwise, they would naturally work to outdo their brother and sister in service to the Lord.
Of vital importance to being the One Anothers that God has called us to be is to understand the following important fact: Without our fulfilling this role with accuracy, excellence, and consistency, people will have no reason to be attracted to Christianity. The fact is, not only are you to live as a One Another in order to be a blessing to One Another, but you are also to be a One Another so that you might draw others to want to become One Anothers.
Sometimes, believers act like Christian maturity is about how much of the Bible they can quote. They seem not to realize that the reality is that Christian maturity is not about how much you can quote, but it is really about how much of the Bible you live.
Paul’s list of gifts in Romans 12 wasn’t to boost egos. It was to build a community where every believer finds purpose in serving others. Genuine love isn’t loud. It’s steady. It shows up to wash feet, not to be noticed. It is patient with weakness. It’s generous with grace. That’s what outdoing one another looks like: a quiet, determined race to the bottom — where the goal is to serve more, not be seen more.
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