Hebrews 5:11-14

Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

I often think about these verses. Honestly, I mostly think about them in relation to the church in America and how many of us are infants partaking of only milk. 

And I have many opinions about those who are on milk when they should be well past it and those who are on milk because they're afraid to step up to solid food and I even have opinions about those who continue to feed milk to those who should be more mature. I have a lot to say about those people.

But, what about me? Am I on solid food or am I on milk? I think it depends on the definition of the terms. I don't think solid food is more knowledge of God, I think it's experience with God and the doing of holy things, more than the thinking of holy things.

I like to think that I'm on solid food, most times, but sometimes, I think the truth may be that I'm jut not eating anything. That's the challenge of feeding yourself rather than being fed passively by a church - by a pastor or teacher or evangelist or tele-evangelist. If you have to feed yourself then you have to feed yourself.

Luckily, we have a God who cares for us. When I first came to Iraq, I really struggled to eat God, so to speak. Especially in corporate worship and prayer times. I hated it. We were all like college kids who only knew how to microwave things. Our times were bland and way overdone. 

We all yearned for something more and we eventually stormed our way to better food. Six months in and I'd say we were eating at least as well as newlyweds.

(I'll admit that I may have just way overused my analogy, but I think you get my point - eating solid food is harder than eating milk)

I don't think we should move past milk only to starve to death, but we should move past milk before it puts us to sleep.

That's the best way my wife and I have found to put the baby to sleep (or even just to get her to stop crying): feed her milk! She's almost always pacified and most of the time she sleeps when she's had enough.

But, I'd bet if you're reading this, you're beyond milk and need to be on solid food. If an infant typically starts adding solid food at 6 months, we should be eating the caviar of faith. Even beyond just the Happy Meals and pizzas!

This is my sincerest wish for believers - that they would be those who are mature, those who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

I pray it for myslef also.