Learning about maturity: Author Jada Edwards speaks at Convocation Feb. 9

Convocation opened on Friday, Feb. 9 with music featuring Nigerian recording artist Enkay Ogboruche and LU Praise, Liberty’s multi-ethnic gospel choir.

Their performances were followed by a message about spiritual maturity shared by speaker Jada Edwards, author of “The Captive Mind.”

Edwards began by sharing about her experiences raising her 10-year-old son.

“He thinks that he’s kind of becoming a grown man,” Edwards said.

She said despite her son’s wishes, he could not yet make wise decisions for himself. She described how she would remind him of how he could know when he was becoming mature.

“When you can make decisions that go against what you might want but it’s what you need, then I’ll know you’re becoming mature,” Edwards said.

Edwards emphasized the importance of wise decision-making.

“Decision-making is what makes you mature. You need to be able to make decisions that may not be what you want but what you need,” Edwards said.

According to Edwards, her 10-year-old son lacks maturity in the same way that many lack spiritual maturity.

“We can have all the things that make us spiritually large and spiritually heavy, and still be spiritually immature,” Edwards said.

Edwards talked about the importance of responding immediately to the convictions that the Holy Spirit places in our lives is another marker of spiritual maturity. While conveying the words of Paul from Romans 15, Edwards spoke of how the desires of Christians may be good but are not what God has planned for them at that time.

She proceeded to share three points as to how we can demonstrate that we are spiritually mature.

Firstly, Edwards said, “We can acknowledge that there are things that we want from God.”

She shared that loving Jesus does not change how we have desires, but instead it means that we must trust God with those desires. When God does not give us our desires, Edwards said, “That rejection is protection.”

Secondly, Edwards said that we must accept that most of the time, we will have to wait on God.

“If you love Jesus, there is an internal struggle going on in your mind every day,” Edwards said. She said that tolerating our frustration with the waiting on God’s call is a sign of personal growth.

Anchoring yourself in the truth and way of God was Edwards’ last way to demonstrate spiritual maturity. Edwards said, like Paul in Romans 15, we need to be unwilling to be distracted by the desires of our heart.

Junior Ava Standish appreciated that Edwards’ message was applicable to those of this college-aged generation.

“I liked how she talked about maturing in your faith isn’t about how long you’ve been in church but about what God is doing through you,” said Standish.

Jada Edwards ended her message reminding students that, “A good thing may not necessarily be a God thing.”

Lunney is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion