Christian Living
“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 NKJV
Church, it is time we start feeding ourselves and stop depending on others. God will enable us to understand His Word, either logos [the completed Word] or rhema, [present word of promise.] The degree to which we receive the Word depends on our spiritual maturity.
Picture a nursery full of babies in high chairs with attendants carefully feeding them. Many of these babies are young and must be cared for and looked after with constant attention and feeding. Sometimes a tiny one may grab a t-bone steak and someone must be there to make sure they don’t try and eat it and choke to death. This child still needs milk.
Picture now ten year old children trying to squeeze into the high chairs, calling for attendants to come and feed them! When one attendant gets disgusted and quits helping them, they call for another. Church, its time we start feeding ourselves!
Have you ever watched a child feed himself who is just learning how? Two things are evident:
(1) They are very eager to learn at the beginning.
(2) All are very messy and have little control or patience.
Most new believers are ready to start eating by their selves. They want to get close to God and understand the Bible and hear the Word of God. When they start however, they are messy! New believers get confused easily and patience wears thin. They quickly can get discouraged or frustrated feeling like a failure because they struggle to digest and understand the Word. They may quit eating until they get really hungry.
Guidance for these Christians is a definite need, but not doing everything for them. We must not be impatient when a spoon is dropped or food flung over the floor. There can be a degree of discipline but mainly encouragement; I mean lots of encouragement. Above all, we must never make these messy people leave the church no more than we would get rid of a baby for not being mature. We clean up after them with a parental love and know that one day they will not only be helping others but helping us as well.
Now let’s discuss the ten year olds sitting in the high chairs. It is time we quit trying to get Pastors and other leaders to spoon feed us the Word without spending any time at home in study for ourselves. It is time we start doing the work of the ministry and not sit back and watch them do it with an “Amen” and “Hallelujah” to boot. We need to take stock of our lives, seeing what areas we still lack maturity in and ask God to meet us in our weakness and help us grow. Growth will come through getting in the Word, prayer, worship and praise and service. Let’s put what we have learned over all these years to use. There is not much time! When the people come, they will come in droves. Will we be ready?
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