Luke 18:16

Somewhere in the transition from teenager to "young adult" to "real world adult" is the notion that as you and I mature, our minds are supposed to conform to the notion that the real world is just the way it is and you better get on board or else be left behind to reap the consequences of your lack of ambition and "go get it."

Somewhere in the process of "growing up," you're supposed to learn to distrust people, rely on yourself, and make things happen. Things are the way they are, and you can't pretend you're a kid anymore in a fairyland ideal. The real world is the real world. Adapt.

And this is where the nostalgic Jon comes out and starts to think about the times as a kid where life was really simple ... really beautiful really. There wasn't so many problems; no drama whatsoever; nobody you had to get approval from. It was just me, smiling a ton, making terrible jokes in an Australian accent because life was meant to be enjoyed. It doesn't necessarily take a John Piper reader to have understood as a kid that "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him." It's something some of us knew to be true. It was in us. And now that I'm far removed from whatever that reality was, somehow life becomes more of a fight for survival and an identity crisis ... totally dependent on whatever way we gauge success. You gotta get the GPA, gotta get the internship, gotta get the job, gotta get the Godly wife, etc., etc., etc. And it's like some kind of pressure, a weight if you will, that if we're not careful, we'll let enslave us and all of the sudden, let that "dream" of ours command and capture our very longings, affections, and our schedules.

I'm just throwing up a thought right now, but maybe Luke 18:16 can bear some weight for me. Maybe "growing up" in a sense is "growing down" and just crucifying independence. Maybe sanctification looks a lot more like losing your life, loosening your grips and trusting that the only unwasted life is a life spent enjoying Jesus and making known that He is a sweet Savior for all who might finally be tired enough of the works of their hands and come to a savior who is able, a savior who is worthy to follow as King.