Devotions: Got Milk?

 

like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

1 Peter 2:2 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 

Babies need a lot of care. They are completely helpless in the beginning, and they would not be put in the charge of someone who didn’t know how to take care of babies. One of the very important things about babies is that they can only eat milk for the first several months of their lives. They are incapable of consuming solid food, yet something as simple as milk gives them everything they need to quadruple in size and begin moving around. But without that start of good, nourishing milk they will never thrive. That is a good example of believers when they first come to salvation. Like babies, they cannot handle the solid food of deeper doctrine and theology, and it would be unwise to try to engage them in discussions of these dense and possibly controversial topics. They need the basics so that they can grow and thrive and gain a good foundation. Without the Word, prayer and sound teaching they will not thrive and possibly even starve out or be led astray. Like children, it is tempting to want to “run ahead” and take on things too difficult for them to handle. They need to wait until they are strong and solid enough to handle it. Yet, even after growth and maturity, the simple, basic “milk” of scripture is still vitally important in every day life. Like the necessity of milk/dairy in our diets, without it we will become deficient. Eating too much rich food, or even junk food, will weaken our bodies in the same way that focusing on topics that, while godly, are not basic or sound. As we grow we can add stronger, richer things to our diet, but we need to make sure we get a good daily helping of the basics as well. If we are not taking care of our daily relationship with God we will starve spiritually. We cannot leave it up to our pastor or teachers to do it for us. Even reading good books about Christian living and listening to sermons is not enough because without a firm, regular footing in the Word we could still be led astray. We need to grow independent enough to feed ourselves, and long to eat that good, basic food of Scripture. We need to feed ourselves daily from the Bible or we will not thrive. How is your diet? Are you getting enough of what you need to stay healthy? Do you hunger for the good food of the Bible? If not, ask God to help you, to give you that craving for His Word rather than filling up on the junk of the world. Be diligent in making the time to seek Him yourself daily rather than waiting for others to feed you so that you will be strong enough to handle life.

 

 

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