One of the fun things about having a baby is watching Sam develop and learn. Everything is brand new to him.
My favorite picture, one that is saved as my phone’s wallpaper, is from when he was a month old. My wife Casey got a picture of him actually looking at her, aware of her, instead of looking through her.
Tummy time was Sam lying on his stomach and yelling because he couldn’t lift his head. Then, one week later, he is looking around like an expert.
Now we’re rolling. First was from front to back, which Sam forgot after he figured out back to front.
Now, at the time of this writing, he can do all of it, but only in one direction.
That’s how we are as Christians.
“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.”
1 Corinthians 3:1-2
“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 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.”
Hebrews 5:11-14
We start out worldly, with a simple yet nutritious diet to grow. When the pastor preaches or we read our Bible, we get the gist of it, but not so much the big picture’s depth and nuance.
Christians are supposed to grow and mature. To be less like the world and more like Jesus.
One of our pastors said when he counsels someone, he asks, “What book of the Bible are you reading?”
Not, are you reading the Bible? That can be responded to with a simple yes. Read a verse, and you can answer that honestly.
Verses require context. Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason says, “Never read a Bible verse.” You need the context from reading the verses and passages around it—the perspective of the time and whole of Scripture.
A verse is a sip of milk. A book of the Bible is solid food.
For Christians, people should say what Sam’s godmother said after she hadn’t seen him in two weeks.
“He’s like a different/new baby.”
Why?
The last time she saw him, he was expressive but not vocal. Now he smiled and babbled at her.
Time for Christians to start growing.
A Ronin's Journey 