Children vs the mature

Heb_5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

Labouring in the ministry has a reward not only in this life but in the life to come, too. When we get to heaven, we shall receive two crowns: the crown of service and the crown of salvation. 

Everyone deep in their hearts yearns to live for something bigger and greater than themselves, and ministry is such a thing. It transcends the earthly into eternity. For many years to come, your ministry will be touching thousands just like some of God's generals.  

Many who do not engage in the ministry are compared to children. Children are naturally consumers and not producers. If you still live that way, you are a child in a big person's body. Children are also very dependent people; even when they wet themselves, they need someone to clean them up. Those who are ever feeding yet not releasing are also becoming spiritually fat. This is not a good state to be in. We don't grow and mature by knowledge alone but by doing what the Word says. 

Talking about knowledge, people know a lot nowadays but have nothing to show for it. There's this training, conference, Sunday service, midweek service, overnight, mentorship, mastermind on their calendar but do not practice what they hear. We have too much in our notebooks nowadays smartphone than the results to show for it. A normal Christian today knows so much concerning the Bible than the new testament convert in the time of the apostles! But the believers then went everywhere preaching, teaching and healing to implement the little instructions they knew from the Word. For us we have more staying than going, more hearing than doing. 

Most teachers todate because they don't want their followers to do the mistakes they did, load their followers with too much information in that the ordinary believer is already biased with the dos and donts even before they try. Yet I believe that information especially concerning the ministry nuts and bolts is helpful for one who is already hosting a missional family, who visits hospitals, prisons, orphanages, door to door, street evangelism on a weekly basis. This generation seeks knowledge first before action! Someone for example spends about 20 years of their life in school before they work a profession! There are good things to that by the way. But am against those who are paralised with too much information without aplication. 

The culture in Bible times was not built on knowledge accumulation but knowledge  accumulation and practice immediately. In otherwords it taught that you don't know anything until you do it. In fact wisdom is the knowledge you apply! Then, the best way to learn was not by Google search or lecture mode, but it was to be an apprentice of another more experienced rabbi or teacher or master. And what the master did, is what you had to do. One simply had to copy and paste and if they perfected it then they were mature. Remember when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray? They wanted to get the results He had and they knew if they prayed like Him, they would do what He did. He also sent them out two by two to preach and had time to evaluate what they learnt.

As in the human body, when a part is not doing its part, the rest of the body suffers. Be that part that supplies and not simply consumes. Be mature and act on what you know, don't spectate, do something for the growth of the church and, eventually, for the kingdom of God. 

Further scriptures

Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

1 Corinthians 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.