A man went into a department store, picked up a game of chess took it to a salesman and said, “Tell me how to play it as you wrap the package.”

That’s descriptive of our situation. We want to know how to do it quickly. We don’t want to take the time to follow each necessary step. No fascination is keener than our fascination with short-cuts.

We want to be “saints suddenly”. We dream long for instant maturity. And that’s what I want to talk about today as we continue our consideration of Christian growth. Two weeks ago I asked the question, where do we grow from here? Last Sunday we looked at a guide for growth. Today I want to sound a firm disclaimer:

There is no instant maturity.

I. FASCINATION FOR SHORTCUTS

Note first, though, that our life situation intensifies a fascination for sh…