Resource Library

If we are not careful we could easily get the impression that adolescence is a disease with headaches and heartaches, pressure and pain as its only symptoms. Not so! Adjustments and struggles may be present, but not to the exclusion of tremendous growth and remarkable achievements. These can be some of the most exciting years of one's spiritual pilgrimage.

The more we study the “Peter Pan Syndrome,” the more we understand what we are dealing with. Although the name is new, the problem is old. In fact, we can trace its roots all the way back to the fall of man in the garden. As we shall see, not even the early church was free of this insidious problem.

Although young in the faith, those Jerusalem believers demonstrated a commendable growth toward maturity. But this condition was not found throughout all congregations. As is true today, there were some who were old enough to be well on their way to maturity, but they preferred to remain immature and irresponsible…adolescents in adult bodies.

One of the most remarkable eras in the history of the church occurred during the first century. Shortly after Christ had left the earth, His disciples (who became apostles) led congregations into new and exciting vistas of faith. Though young and relatively inexperienced, the believers who comprised the first-century church showed evident marks of maturity…the children were now growing into adolescence!

Which “childish things” have no business lingering once we become mature? Believe it or not, God's expectation that we grow spiritually is firmly rooted in the Old Testament, where the prophets of old laid down a clear path for knowing God deeply.

There is a well-worn path stretching across every adult's life. It is impossible to grow up without travelling down that path. That path is the path of childhood. What is true physically is equally true spiritually. How essential is a healthy, happy childhood in the family of God…yet how rare!