Tag: Christian maturity

What spiritual food are you eating?

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 13-15

POETRY: Psalm 106

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 5

Growing up, I was one of the youngest out of both my family and all my cousins. I changed my first diaper when I was in college when my oldest niece was born. To say I was inexperienced around kids is probably an understatement. Because of this, parenthood has also meant lots of research about what it to actually do. Sleep routines, bathtimes, mealtimes, and independent play. There’s a lot that you need to learn even if it seems like it would be common sense. 

As you read through the Bible, it can be easy to gloss over passages that reference parenthood when you are a teen and young adult. It’s not until you are a parenthood constantly trying to keep your two-year-old out of harm’s way that the significance of the passage “an infant will put its hand in a cobra’s den” really makes sense (Is. 11:8).

Today, we read a passage that also really only starts to show its true significance when you’ve been around children during their baby years. Every child is born helpless, needing constant love, care, and literal physical support. When they are born, they can only eat milk. In fact, if you tried to give your newborn an apple or even a banana they may very well choke. Their baby tummies may not be able to digest it, and they may end up having poor nutrition because they get more calories without the rich nutrients delivered by milk. 

You only start feeding solids after several months of development so that babies can grow bit by bit into the food that they eat. There’s lots of different (and conflicting) advice about the methods and timing for introducing solids, but to keep it simple if you’ve never been around young kids going through this transition, the move from milk to solids is momentous and requires thought and care. Some parents I’ve talked to have even put it off into the child’s seventh or eighth month because of the lifestyle change it requires. However, it is a very necessary step towards a mature adult. 

Today, we read in Hebrews 5:11-14, “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.” 

In our Christian walk, we want to strive for holiness and righteousness. We want to be mature in our faith. In James 1:4, we read that we want to be ‘mature and complete’ in our faith, not lacking anything. 

The writer of Hebrews was pretty critical of the letter’s recipients. Instead of calling them mature, they were called newborns in the faith who lived on milk, not solid food. What is the milk of the faith? 

The beginning of Hebrews 6 tells us: “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.”

When we read the judgments in the books of prophecy of the Old Testament, we can often feel a little overwhelmed. But, we want to grow and become mature in faith. This only happens if we are consistent and diligent in our study of God’s word and live out the things that we read. We have to move beyond the basics and move towards solid food. This means dealing with difficult passages, theological concepts, and ethical questions. 

This solid food will help us to become wise. It will help us to have discernment as we deal with an increasingly difficult, complex, and uncertain cultural moment. It will help us to be able to distinguish good from evil and choose the right paths for our lives. 

-Cayce Fletcher

Cayce Fletcher is a teacher-turned-SAHM mom of two. She blogs and podcasts at A More Beautiful Life Collective where she focuses on how you can create a life you love and cultivate your heart for God. Currently, she is working through a systematic theology series on her podcast. You can find her latest post on Bibliology here. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Read through the list of teachings that is the milk of the Christian faith. Does this list surprise you? Would you add anything to this list? 
  2. Do you think you are currently needing spiritual milk or solid food? 
  3. What steps can you take to grow and mature in your faith? 
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Maturity

Old Testament: Jeremiah 7 & 8

Poetry: Proverbs 7

New Testament: James 5

James has focused his entire letter on Christian maturity — both in our faithfulness to God and in our conduct toward others. It’s not enough to just call ourselves Christ followers; we must be continually striving to grow closer to Him in our behavior, our morality, and our internal attitudes. Now James concludes his letter, and he does so by talking about where we place our trust in this life. This is very much a continuation of the thoughts James shares in chapter 4:7–12: Trusting God instead of the world.

“Therefore, brothers, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. Brothers, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!

Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

Now above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. Your “yes” must be “yes,” and your “no” must be “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.”

James 5:7–12

The impatience and callousness that can come from trusting in our wealth compared with the patience and strength that comes with trusting in God is the theme of chapter 5 of James. He puts this patience in the context of a farmer who has to keep a long-term view of their work, knowing that a lack of patience could result in a ruined crop. Our trust in God encourages us to be patient with Him as well as with one another.

Take people like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Job as examples of this kind of patience and trust. Their examples testify to us that our patient faith can endure anything through the Father. These people should be role models to us, not simply icons of faith. We should look at the way they endured their trials, at the ways they overcame discouragement and outright persecution, and strive to do the same.

Then we get to the “above all” statement. This is the sum of everything James has written so far regarding our mature faith. Putting God’s word into action, showing generosity, overcoming prejudice, taming our tongues, growing in humility, and putting our trust where it belongs — all of this boils down to a very simple principle: be honest.

·       If we are honest with our perspective about suffering, we will understand that pains of this life are temporary and look to God’s greater purpose for us.

·       If we are honest with God’s word, then we will put it into practice when it tells us to change things in our lives.

·       If we are honest with the example Jesus has left us, then we will put others before self, discard prejudice, and seek mercy before judgments.

·       If we are honest with ourselves, we will be mindful of the ways we use our words and control our language even when angered or frustrated.

·       If we are honest about our place in Creation, we will be humble before God and put His will before our own.

·       If we are honest in humility, then we will place our trust in the Creator rather than the perishable things He has created.

Applying the wisdom in James takes time. God has not left you alone in this but will work this out for you if you are humble and honest. May you be blessed this week and always seek the Kingdom.

-Andy Cisneros

Reflection Questions

  1. Honestly evaluate what you most often put your trust in. Your wealth, the world, your job, your family, your Creator? How can you display more trust in God Almighty? What would that look like?
  2. How mature is your Christian faith? What would help you grow even more mature?
  3. How would you rate yourself on each of the “If we are honest…” statements above? Which one do you think God would most like you to work on right now? What would be a great first step? Pray and tell God about the change and action steps you would like to make.
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