1 John 2:12-14- "Spiritual Growth"

"I write to you, dear children,
because your sings have been forgiven on account of his name.
I write to you, fathers,
because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one!
I write to you, dear children,
because you have known the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, 
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one."
Such an amazing section that has so much in it!  John uses both language of intimacy with his audience and he writes to encourage them.  But, my main goal is to ask a few questions from this and write about what I know from this passage (not that I know more than anyone, but am interested in starting conversations for different ideas).
As a kid, I always wanted to grow up.  I remember hanging at my neighbors house saying that we wished we could be 20, then 30, then 50, then 70 because we thought that we could do anything that we wanted!  What kid does not want to grow up and be able to do what he or she wants.  As a 20 year old kid, I am beginning to understand that life does not get easier, but maturity gets harder and harder to get.  Its not something that we just grow into spiritually,  it is something that we have to try for.
I do not want you to think that it is something that we can do on our own either.   Back in v. 2 of 2 John 2, he says, "he (Jesus Christ) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins".  It does not say, "Humans obtain atoning sacrifice for our sins", it says that God's grace is what saves us.  A lot of us expect that once we reach a level of "adulthood" that we will become an adult.  Spiritually, and for some who still act immature as 20 year old's, I believe that we "young men" need to grow to become "fathers".  How do we do this though?
It involves three important things:
1. Realizing our sinfulness (1 John 1:9)
2. Realizing that Christ is the one who is our atoning sacrifice (1 John 2:2)
3. And it involves "walking as Jesus did" (1 John 2:6).
I encourage you in your spiritual journey, that it will be rough.  Young men may have "overcome the evil one", but it involves living these three aspects, and trusting in God to walk us and teach us daily.