If you are a parent, perhaps you know the frustration of a child who won’t eat her dinner. She just stares at it, complains about it, and resists it with every fiber of her being, all while you chow down on a perfectly good and tasty meal, or at least one in which you’ve invested some time.
Or perhaps you know the child who won’t drink from a sippy cup when you are trying to transition out of the bottle stage. Again with the staring, the crying, the pinched lips and shifting head. You can lead a child to the cup, but you can’t make him drink.
Why are these scenarios so frustrating in the life of a parent? Beyond the sinful nature of our own hearts to take offense where we shouldn’t, I believe we struggle in these moments because we know that the plate of food and the cup of milk are necessary for our children to grow. The body needs nourishment; without it, we languish, deteriorate, and die.
The advice often given to such struggling parents is patience—a child won’t starve himself to death. Eventually, the growling of an empty belly will overpower the stubborn will of a resistant child. They will eat; they will drink—it just may take some time.
So we don’t expect a child to starve himself to death physically, but it sure seems we can try to starve ourselves to death spiritually.
Hebrews 5:11-14 says, “We have a great deal to say about this, and it’s difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand. Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.”
The message, God’s revelation—God’s Word—is nourishment for our souls. As we begin the life of faith, we need the milk. As we grow, we transition to solid food. But if we do not partake of the food, we gain no nourishment, we languish, we deteriorate, we die.
How stubborn we can be to ignore an empty soul begging to be fed even scraps of God’s Word. Instead of resisting, “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). His Word is “sweeter than honey, which comes from the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10). It teaches, trains, fills, and satisfies. So here’s the point—we will not grow without feasting on the Word of God. “Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). If you believe that, then open your mouth and take a bite.
• Make it a point to hear God’s Word preached in church
• Join a small group Bible study
• Make a plan to read the Scriptures on a regular basis
What are your plans for feasting on God’s Word that you may grow?