It’s been quite awhile since I’ve had a newborn in the house, as my youngest child is close to 28 years old now. However, a mother never forgets how important it is for a newborn to be fed milk. They should have milk alone for at least the first five months or so. Then slowly soft cereals are added, and then pureed fruit or vegetables. As teeth begin to come in, then harder foods can be added. However, as a newborn, the baby needs their milk. In our Scripture for today, the Apostle Peter talks about spiritual babies, and what is important for them. Let’s look at what God’s Word will teach us.
The Word of God teaches us that when we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we become a Christian, and a member of God’s family. Just like with a human family, a new Christian is like a baby. We are like spiritual babes, with very little knowledge or understanding of spiritual matters. We need to learn and grow, just like a human baby does.
The way a human baby grows is by being fed good, healthy food, first the milk, and then on to other foods. The way a baby Christian grows is by being fed spiritual food, and that food is God’s Word, the Bible (vs. 2). If we are spiritually healthy, we desire to grow. We will find nourishment in God’s Word, and the more of the Bible we read and study, the more we will start to grow. A newborn baby desires to be fed often throughout the day. We know this, as the baby starts to cry when hungry, and the mother quickly establishes a schedule for how often the baby needs to be fed. Spiritual growth is always marked by a craving, a desire for God’s Word, just as the baby craves milk.
A good and responsible parent will make sure that their baby, and later their young child, eats good, healthy food. They should not feed them a lot of junk food, and especially nothing that is poisonous or dangerous. Good food will help their child grow into a strong and healthy adult. The same holds true with the “baby” Christian. They need to be very careful about what they are allowing in their life. The Christian’s new life cannot grow unless sins are renounced. When that is done, the Word can do its work of helping the believer to grow into the likeness of the Lord Jesus. We must rid ourselves of anything that hinders our walk with the Lord (vs 1). Just like new babies desire good, wholesome milk, a new Christian will desire pure, spiritual milk, rather than deceit, malice (the desire to do evil), and other sins. We need spiritual nourishment, not things that can bring spiritual destruction. A new believer needs to develop the habit of repenting of all sin as soon as it crops up in their life, and to deal with any sinfulness, so that God’s blessings will flow.
Sometimes a parent will encounter a picky eater in their child. As the parent introduces new foods as the child grows, occasionally that child may not like it, and refuses. They think it tastes yucky, and they make a face, turning their head away. Many of us can remember one particular food that we didn’t like at all when we were a young child, one that perhaps our parents kept trying to get us to eat. One thing that we can count on is that our spiritual food isn’t something nasty tasting, like that one yucky food we don’t like. Taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). God’s Words are sweet (Psalm 119:103). When we are saved, we taste that God is gracious (vs. 3).
As Christians we are all part of God’s family, and as Peter finishes up our passage we read that we are being built up as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood (vs. 4-5). All born-again believers are members of the holy priesthood, with Jesus as the Great High Priest. Jesus is also the chosen Cornerstone of the Church, the body of believers throughout the world. God is building a spiritual house, putting all believers in place.
In closing, since the day of your spiritual birth, have you been growing as a Christian? We know that there is something wrong when a baby stays the same size, and doesn’t grow or learn new skills. The same goes if a new Christian doesn’t grow spiritually, either. We are to grow up, putting aside sin. We grow, like a baby does, by having milk - the Word of God. So, are you getting your daily servings of milk?
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