Hebrews 5:12 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”
It has always amazed me how fast babies grow. When each of you was born you weighed anywhere between 7-10 pounds. While you were pretty healthy sizes for newborns, you still seemed so tiny to me. Yet within a couple of weeks you each outgrew your tiny clothing and I was forced to purchase larger sizes. That’s what babies do – they eat, they sleep, and they grow! If this is not the case, then you know something is wrong.
The writer to the Hebrews used this example to explain that we as believers also need to be growing. The Jewish Christians who were reading this letter had heard all of the elementary teachings of Jesus, and now the author wanted to teach them deeper things. But there was a problem – they weren’t growing spiritually like they should have been. These men and women again needed to be reminded of the basics and were not ready to move on to meatier teaching. By this time in their spiritual journey they should have been teaching others but they were still infants themselves.
This was a dangerous situation for them, and it is for us, too. If a person is not moving forward in the faith, growing and gaining strength, then he or she is at risk of falling away. As we learn more we gain greater insight into what is good and what is evil. We recognize truth and can more easily discern lies Satan wants us to believe.
Just as a growing baby is always moving forward learning to hold up his head, to crawl, then walk, and talk until he becomes an adult, so we must be progressing in our knowledge of God and the ability to trust Him. This takes much diligence on our part. Reading our Bible daily and praying and asking God for understanding is spiritual food that will nourish our souls and help us grow up in the Lord.
It’s been 25 years since my first baby was born and I am glad to say my 8-pounder is now 6’4 and over 200 pounds. I guess he has been eating well!! The rest of you have grown a lot, too. But the next question is: how are you doing with your spiritual growth? Let’s make sure we move past drinking milk to eating heartier fare. Press on to spiritual maturity, and let’s see where you go from here! — Love, Mama
