Page 121 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 23

I hope that doesn't sound arrogant, but the sins of Since children are not explicitly addressed anywhe-
transgression in words, thoughts and deeds, as
Mar�n Luther put it, are no longer
the primary problem for me, although the Holy Spi-
rit also repeatedly puts his finger on such sins.
What really burdens me are the sins of omission.
If, for example, I am preparing a seminar – and my
experiences here go back over 30 years – I s�ll con-
centrate on good content and on methodical pre-
senta�on, at the same �me praying that the par�ci-
pants will be blessed. But the �me I spend prepa-
ring “my” love for them is prac�cally nil. Of course, •
even in this failure I know I am held by God's grace,
but I experience this state as a catastrophe a�er ha- •
ving experienced God's love for so many years! At
the same �me, I am happy that God hears this cry
of my heart. Something will change! I am certain of
that.
But there will always be smaller or larger steps of
conversion to follow, because we are designed for
spiritual growth. Paul was not spared this either, as Baby, toddler, infant (paidion): "because you know
the following text makes clear:
The church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria
was now experiencing a �me of rest and peace. The
Chris�ans were strengthened in their faith and
lived in awe of the Lord. And because the Holy Spi-
rit was at their side, the church con�nued to grow.
(Acts 9:31)
Here, the important thing for me is the �ny word
“now”. They were now experiencing a �me… What
had happened? Paul had been taken away to Cae-
sarea, for his own safety, a�er he had delivered a
fearless address. It is not possible to work out retro- in me and that I have defeated the evil one. I am
spec�vely when Paul returned to the “biblical sta-
ge”, but even he had to grow and fewer.
Babies, children, young people and fathers
John speaks about the various stages of maturity:
I am wri�ng to you, li�le children, because your
sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. I
am wri�ng to you, fathers, because you know Him
who has been from the beginning. I am wri�ng to
you, young men, because you have overcome the
evil one. I have wri�en to you, children, because
you know the Father. I have wri�en to you, fathers,
because you know Him who has been from the be-
ginning. I have wri�en to you, young men, because
you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
(1 John 2:12-14)
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re else in the New Testament, it can be assumed
that it is not meant literally here either, but rather
to refer to spiritual growth stages or phases. We
find four terms in the basic Greek text: Babies,
children, young men and fathers or parents. Before
I describe their characteris�cs, four points are im-
portant to me:
• This is not about a judgment that one phase is
“be�er” than the other.
They are all present at the same �me, but with
different weigh�ngs.
This division helps us to understand each other,
especially where one stage dominates: I am a
different Chris�an today than I was twenty-five
years ago, I have different priori�es today.
• Somehow �me / age plays a role in this.
The following characteris�cs are men�oned:
the Father".
Children, by descent (teknion): “because your sins
are forgiven”.
Young men (neaniskos): “because you have con-
quered the evil one”, “because you are strong; the
word of God is alive in you and abides in you”.
Fathers, mothers, parents (pateres) “because you
know Him who was there from the beginning”.
I have the privilege of believing that God is a Father,
of believing that my sins are forgiven, of believing
that I am strong because the word of God remains
enalbed to believe that I know the one who was
there from the beginning. All of this already played
a role at the beginning of my life of faith, all of it
should remain alive and vital, but the focus has
shi�ed.
Recognizing God as Father like the prodigal son and
then finding inner peace and reconciled rela�ons-
hips through forgiveness were highlights of the first
decade. Being strong in faith probably dominated
my second decade of faith. As a mature Chris�an,
my amazement at the greatness of God, who was
from the beginning, the creator of the whole world,
who sustains everything through his word, who is
love, to whom my present and future belong above
all. All of these are the great themes of faith in my
life, which I want to and should put into prac�ce
every day.