As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby. 1 Peter 2:2
Many of us grew up in an era when it was not considered the best to have newborn babies fed by their mother’s milk. All sorts of baby formula programs were invented, all claiming to be the best nourishment for infants. It was as though those formula companies were telling our parents that they were producing a better product than God, when He designed the mother’s body to produce the ideal nourishment for her babies. The baby formula era produced an unhealthy population with such issues as underdeveloped immune systems because we were deprived of the milk from our mothers. Thankfully, the pendulum has swung the other way, and the sight of a baby sucking on a bottle of formula is becoming more rare. Just as mothers’ milk is best for babies, so is the sincere milk of the Word of God the best for new Christians.
A baby deprived of milk will not grow; neither will the spirit of a newborn believer deprived of the Word of God. It is natural for a new baby to want to be fed. In fact, its demands to be fed will be apparent to everybody within earshot. In the early days, the baby doesn’t take much at a feeding, but the amount increases as the baby grows. It’s the same with young believers; they can grasp spiritual truths only by bits and pieces at first, but as their knowledge grows and develops, they can learn and absorb more and more. And as they do, their growth in the things of God will be apparent. Although they may not realize it themselves, it is very easy to tell which young Christians are feeding on the Word of God as they should.
But there comes a time when young Christians move beyond the stage of desiring and consuming the milk of the Word. ‘For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the Word of righteousness: for he is a babe’ (Hebrews 5:13). Spiritual maturity calls for a mature spiritual diet. ‘But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil’ (Hebrews 5:14). If we are to grow and develop, and become the effective witnesses for our Lord and the skillful workers for our Lord that He desires of us, we need to get past the spiritual milk diet, just as we would never have grown up physically if we had not moved on to solid food.
It is critical to desire the sincere milk of the Word if we are to survive and grow as new Christians. But it is also critical to desire the meat of the Word if we are to grow into mature Christians. – Jim MacIntosh