Ephesians 4:14 - No more infants...?

"...in order that no longer we may be infants, being sea-tossed and being carried about [by] every wind of the teaching in the trickery of the men, in craftiness toward the deceitful scheming."

-Infants.  Completely lovable, brimming full of potential, but far, far from complete.  Absolutely helpless, these, not helpful in the least.  They neither serve nor build up.  Not only do they require constant care and time and effort, but they have no ability whatsoever to stand on their own, totally subject to the whims and vagaries of those around them.  It is not a bad thing in the least to be an infant - the gift of life, the miracle of new birth, whether physical or spiritual (as in this case) is one of the most marvelous phenomena in the universe.  But something is seriously wrong if one were to remain an infant.  There is a time to be an infant, and then, no more...

-Maturity and infancy in fact are polar opposites.  Mature, full-knowledge of Jesus Christ stands steadfast, flying dead in the face of teachings and influences which might otherwise pull me away from any all-out full-on following of Jesus Christ and from faithful service and commitment to oneness in His Body.  The imagery here is of one who has no firm root (Luke 8.13), no sure foundation (Matthew 7.25-27), no anchor whatsoever (Hebrews 6.19).  The winds and the waves of false teaching and life are able to just push and blow them haphazardly in any direction.  Need an anchor, desperately...

-Know for sure that there are false teachers, treacherous tricksters, deliberately and deceitfully leading the faithful astray from white-hot devotion to Christ and to one another.  But there are other deceptive influences in play for the believer, hindering that healthy, steady pressing-on towards maturity.  The deceiver, that notorious enemy of our souls is on constant prowl, of course.  The whole world system is designed to get me off track - no talking head required.  Circumstances can conspire to throw me off as well.  And of course, when I am being deceived, I will most likely be rather oblivious to what is transpiring.  Then of course there are other teachers, influences - friends, family, other believers - often well-meaning, but who can be off-track in some way, having unknowingly embraced and prioritized things like materialism, retirement, expanding resumés and portfolios, open-concept living areas, safety (and the illusion thereof), philosophies of relativism and modernism and universalism.  We pay attention to these at our peril, and due in part to all these influences and many more, not to mention the flesh, the Church is chock full of these infants in Christ, the same ones to whom Paul was writing in 1Corinthians 3.1.  Fleshly.  Worldly.  Mere men, and spiritual infants.  No more...!