Milk and Solid Food

Hebrews 5:12-14
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.

Milk and solid food - a pretty clear distinction in and of themselves, and yet when we begin to try and put them in a spiritual tense, it gets a little more confusing. How do I know that I have been weaned? Where is the distinction here? And how do I get myself off of the milk and onto the solid food?

Well, the verse tells us that the "infant is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness." So, let’s start there. Many of us are walking, talking infants without even knowing it, according to this verse. Righteousness, being given and attributed to us through Christ, needs to become the habit of our lives. In fact, when Christ enters our lives, sin becomes a choice, on our part, and no longer a way of life (check out Romans 6 & 8). But righteousness lived out can still be difficult - we still fall into those old habits, and ways of thinking. And since we still live in these bodies of flesh, Satan will still throw temptation our way every chance he gets.

The thing to remember is that it’s a step-by-step process. Just as an infant starts out with pureed food, working his way up to eating what we call "real-people-food," so we must build up to the real meat and potatoes of the spiritual world. How? "By constant use," we can "train ourselves to distinguish good from evil," and live a life of righteousness through the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

I love that it says "constant use." This Christian life we live is a life lived in practice. We need to be in the Word, allowing it to become a part of us and strengthen us. But if we are not, then, putting that head knowledge to use, it will do us no good, and we will remain spiritual infants. We will make mistakes, no doubt about it, but I think we can all agree that the more we "walk in the Spirit," really allowing Him to guide and strengthen us, following His directives, then the easier it becomes to continue in that walk.

The journey, however, begins with the first step. If we are not in the Word on a consistent basis, then that is the first step - we cannot travel a path that we cannot identify. And if we are in the Word, learning and soaking it up, then the next thing to do is to begin living what we learn. It’s tough, I know, that’s why we have been given the Holy Spirit - we are not expected to go at this alone. However, we must still put to "constant use" that which we are learning, becoming mature in the faith and a great pleasure to God!