Milk Grows More than Bones
Babies are fascinating to watch, especially when they first become aware of the world around them. You probably have pictures or videos of your babies discovering their toes and then trying to get them into their mouths, and maybe you were able to capture their first steps on camera. We like to watch videos showing the expressions on our children’s faces when they dared to turn loose and try to walk. Of course, mother or dad was standing close by with outstretched hands, encouraging them to “Come to me. Just turn loose and come to me.” Remember when they had almost reached us, we would often take a step backward so they would continue to walk. We were guiding them in their learning.
We become “babies” when we accept Jesus as our Savior - ‘babes in Christ,” as Paul calls us in 1 Corinthians 3:1. Our growth involves learning to eat and to walk. Just as we first fed our babies milk, then baby food, and finally food from the table, we are to “desire the pure milk of the Word that you (we) may grow” (1Peter 23;10. Babies
have a natural instinct for milk and are nourished by it, but soon their appetites call for more than just milk. This is a natural part of growth, but if we keep them on just a milk diet, their growth will be stunted. So it is with our spiritual development.
Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3, when speaking to a group of believers who had not grown, said, “When I was with you, I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you were not ready for anything stronger and you still are not ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature.
You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?”
How mature are we as Christians? Are we still drinking milk when we should be and could be feasting on meat? How can we grow in Christ? By getting to know Him - by spending time reading His Word, asking God to reveal His truths to us as we read, and then acting on the truths He shows us. The instructions given to us by a physical therapist will not strengthen our arms or legs until we actually put them into practice. So, we must be “doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves” (James 1:22).