day 20: grow up

"we have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 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!"

hebrews 5:11-12

i am not the type to get mad easily. but i am somewhat sensitive. if someone acts like i am stupid, talks to me like i am stupid, treats me like i am stupid, you will most likely see my blood begin to boil, my face turn red. it is not a stubbornness or a refusal to be wrong but a sensitive reaction to my feeling like the other person thinks less of me and my abilities or my intellect (i am sure pride has something to do with it). i can only imagine how i would react if someone told me, "you are slow to learn...you need milk, not solid food". the person treating me like i am stupid may be wrong (though my reaction may not be appropriate either). but what if the "slow to learn" statement has nothing to do with intellect but instead reflects me spiritually?

i have been a Christian for 29 years. okay, i wasn't born with faith and knowledge of sin and my need for Jesus, but i was raised in a Christian home. i went to sunday school and catechism, faithfully attended church and youth group. i even went to a Christian school. imagine i have studied a subject for 29 years. after that many years, i should be an expert at even the most difficult subjects, right? in most cases, four years of college earns you a bachelors degree in an area of study. maybe not quite an expert at that point, but certainly experienced and knowledgeable. 29 years as a Christian - am i where i should be?

david nasser tells a story about an encounter he had with his wife on his honeymoon to london. they came upon two men having a conversation that they overheard. it became apparent that the one man was muslim and the other christian. david was a muslim that converted to christianity, so obviously he felt like he was in a good place to approach these men. with his wife proudly supporting him, he used verses and passages of Scripture that he had learned. he felt good. but suddenly the muslim who had been quoting the koran, began to quote the Bible too, using it to try to prove them wrong. he knew more than the three Christians combined (david, his wife, and the other Christian man). david admits to feeling ashamed and spiritually illiterate, recognizing his need to grow up in biblical knowledge.

david was a new Christian and felt ashamed at this encounter. if i had been there, how much more ashamed would and should i feel given my life-long Christian journey?!

our culture, even our Christian culture, values and recognizes the importance of growth. if we have a young child and they seem to stop growing or not be growing at the rate that they should, we become worried and bring them to the doctor to see what could possibly be wrong. same things for intellectual and cognitive growth. a child doesn't seem to be keeping up with the expected growth that their classmates are making, do they have a learning disability? why are we not as concerned with our spiritual and faith growth? do we become content with drinking milk instead of eating solid foods?

peter points out the importance of diligence in the faith. he wrote 2 peters to people who were facing false teachers. it was essential for them to remain diligent, but it is equally essential for us today. "in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self control, and in your self control, perseverance, and i your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love." (2 peter 1:5-7)

if we truly understood and had complete gratitude for the cross, would we settle for drinking milk?

Lord, forgive me for being content with a stagnant and static faith. as i get upset by someone who suggests intellectual stupidity, make me upset by my spiritual illiteracy. i yearn for solid food of knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love.