Baby Food
I want to add a final thought to our theme of spiritual diets this week. This wasn't in Joe Seaborn's article, but I think it's relevant. It's the tendency of some to only eat baby food and not move onto solids.
Growing Beyond Spiritual Infancy
Listen to how the writer of the book of Hebrews gets frustrated when he writes this: "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:11-14 NIV11)
And in fact Paul said something similar to the Christians in Corinth, he wrote this: "Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NIV11)
Pursuing Spiritual Maturity
So it was a tendency among Christians then to get lazy in their faith. Instead of pursuing knowledge and learning about the deeper and more complex spiritual truths, they just wanted to stick with the easy stuff. Both of these authors use the term "milk, not solid food" to refer to the type of Christian teaching the people were stuck on. And I suspect that this was not only a problem then. I am convinced that many Christians today fall into the same trap, and I spoke about this last week as well in a devotion about so-called brainless Christians who don't think for themselves.
Consider your spiritual diet – the spiritual food you feed your mind and soul. We spoke this week about the need for consistency in your eating, not binge eating, and not just taking in the sweet stuff, and not mixing in some spiritual junk food. But consider today: are you still only taking in the very basic, beginner teachings of the faith? Or do you know a great deal more than the fundamentals?
Perhaps your church has got a statement of belief, or a manual, or articles of faith, and it's time that you sit down with those and get to know what they all mean. Maybe it's time you start to learn some more theology instead of just the devotional-type material you enjoy. Why not go speak to a minister or trusted Christian friend and prayerfully consider where God may be leading you.
If you only eat baby food, you aren't gonna grow much. And a life of stunted Christian growth is sad. There's so much more to learn, to enjoy, to marvel at, when you move on to some solid food!
So may your spiritual diet be healthy, consistent, and enjoyable. And may your appetite be fully satisfied as you feast on the goodness that God has set out for you.
