Growing down: unlearning the patterns of adulthood that keep us from Jesus

What does it mean to be an adult? Different individuals and cultures will answer differently, but they all will have one common theme: self-sufficiency. Here is where the problem lies for the Christian. On the one hand, the world needs grown-ups, now more than ever. But if growing up is mainly about self-sufficiency and self-reliance, the gospel runs diametrically opposed to both of those things. The gospel tells us, in fact, that we need to "grow down”—to become like children. True maturity, according to Jesus, is entering the kingdom of heaven like a child. In Growing Down, Michael Kelley wrestles with Jesus’ words that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the likes of little children. If that is true, then we must grow down in characteristics that make us functional and effective adults, if we want to truly grow up in Christ.