"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 childish ways behind me." writes Paul in 1 Co 13.

I will not bore you with all the details of my growth in God. Suffice to say that from the time I first put my my life in the hands of Christ as a teenager till now as I approach my 40th birthday, my views of God have greatly changed, deepened, and expanded.

A few years from now, I will be growing in a different area than where I am at now. Each area is a new area of growth, truth on top of truth, revealing a little more of a Great God.

You and I are on a journey. Your understanding of who God is now and how He relates to humanity is different than it was probably 10 years ago. Your understanding is deeper, more full, more clear, yet far more mystified. The more you learn of God, the less confident you feel in your knowledge. Paul continues in the next verse, 12 of 1 Co "Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; than I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

Those that we are walking with in this life are all on their own journeys and need the grace to fully be where they are at on that journey. Where you are at in your understanding of God is divinely orchestrated as He uses the various circumstances in your particular life to impact your intellect and your emotions. To assume that our words alone will automatically bring another person to the exact spot we are in our understanding is naive and arrogant.

I am not suggesting that we not share from our journey; we should do so and often. But we should not have expectations of people as if our understanding at this given moment is thee conclusion that all should arrive at and do so in when we think best. What you and I think regarding God now is a fraction of who He actually is and how He works.

As Jesus responded to Peter, I believe He would respond to any of us who lack such grace. In John 21, Peter is asking the risen Christ what will become of the disciple John to which Jesus answered "...what is that to you? You must follow me."

I am learning still, even after all these years in ministry - that God's people are...well...God's people and He is a much better teacher than I. God has set the stage for growth with just the right nutrients. As the church of Christ, we often act as impatient gardeners, pulling out the first sign of stalks and leaves, mistaking signs of life to mean it is ready for harvest, often forgetting that God alone makes the seed grow (1 Co 3:6).