Although the weather has been rather wild the past few days it has been wonderful to have some good soaking rain across Victoria and indeed in many parts of inland Australia.

Over the last week I have been encouraged to think about what it means to grow into maturity in Christ.  At a recent training day I attended the presenter, John Rietvold made this comment.  ‘We are mature in Christ when we expect God to be working through suffering’. This makes great sense to me, since it was as Jesus was suffering His great agony on the cross, that God was at his most powerful saving us from our sins.

Maturity in Christ is not taking a victim attitude into our suffering.  Rather it is to take an attitude that God will bring his good and will work to bring me closer to Jesus and more like Jesus as I trust him through the suffering.

While I don’t wish sufffering upon any of you this week, I pray that the Lord will be working in you to draw you closer to Jesus.