“He who has begun a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
Philippians 1:6

When a person is born again, he is born as an infant just as surely as is a child being born naturally. Growth in Christ is just as natural a growth as physical growth, a very slow and sometimes difficult process. The newly born-again will stumble and fall many times before he is able to stand and walk as a mature believer.

Let us then, not be critical with the immature. When a parent watches his child stumbling and staggering as the child experiments with taking his first steps, will the parent becoming angry or disgusted if the child falls? Of course not. The parent knows that before the child is steady on his feet that he will have tumbled over many times as he learns balance. And so it is with the young Christian. Give them space to tumble and be unbalanced before they’re able to stand.

Also, there are children born who are not perfectly healthy. Some are lame, some never walk. Is the parent angry and threatening? Of course not. The parent provides as much support as possible for the child even if he is never able to walk. And so with the crippled believer. Some, for varying reasons, never mature, and it is these who we should be the most patient with because they are unable to walk correctly. We simply give all the support we are able to give in order to help the believer achieve the most maturity possible to him. We shower them with encouragement and offer infinite patience to them.

Always be gentle, helpful, and encouraging, keeping in mind that we also are growing and sometimes we also stumble.