If we are going to live successful Christian lives, we need to grow up and go from craving milk to desiring the meat of the word of God!
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:12-14
The writer of Hebrews told the believers that their spiritual walk was stagnant because they were still desiring milk.
As new believers, we all need the basic foundational truth about our faith. As the above passage states, the first principals of the oracles of God are spiritual milk. Those truths are a necessity for a new believer. This is how one builds a strong foundation and grows in a healthy and strong way.
Milk is given to a baby who cannot eat or chew food. Milk allows the baby to be nourished without the need for the baby to do much. Similarly, when a new believer is dependent on others to learn the elementary principals of faith, they are still a baby Christian. They enjoy the food and nourishment without much work on their part. However, there comes a time that a baby needs to grow up and begin to eat and chew their food on their own.
The writer of Hebrews stated that these believers should have been teachers, but they were still craving milk and were unskilled. Maturity comes from learning to read the word of God and digest it for ourselves. It also means that we have learned how to use the word of God to discern what is good and evil in life and make the right choices. Understanding and applying the word of God with discernment and by the leading of the Holy Spirit is the meat of the word.
Those who don’t spend time in the word of God, are foreign to it. They are not familiar with the word of God, and they would not know how to utilize it when they have a need. They are also waiting for someone else to teach them the way of truth. As a result, they remain unskilled.
How long have you been walking with the Lord? Are you still consuming milk by going to the books of the Bible that make you feel good and comforted? Or have you learned to read and the study the word for yourself? Do you know how to apply the word of God to your situation? Or are you waiting for someone else tell you how to make good decisions? Is the good and evil that you discern in life according to the word of God, or is it your own idea?
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