“If your word had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” Ps. 119:92
“They are not just idle words for you, they are your life…” Deut. 32:47
“The word – living and active” in us… Heb. 4:12
I’ve started a list of descriptions in Scriptures of what a mature believer looks like. I was intrigued with the end of Hebrews 5 about being “skilled in the Word of righteousness and trained in the powers of discernment.” Then I read a good friend’s words:
Guest post; thanks to Timmy Hanauer, landscape designer, integrated farming consultant, fisherman, theologian, and best man in our wedding. : )
Hebrews 5 :11-14 “…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 God, and you need milk and not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
He notes:
“To soak in the analogy for a moment – infants, because their digestive tract is still developing, require specific food that breaks down easily and does not need to be chewed. Also because they lack of handling skills, they require someone to deliver that food, making them dependent. The analogy finds traction at several points. Immature believers are still learning how to absorb, understand, and integrate the Scriptures into their lives. Their inability to chew – to study, memorize, and meditate on the Word of God in such a way as to be self-directed by God, as opposed to dependent on other people as teachers, speaks to their spiritual “toothlessness”. The immature believer typically gets his spiritual input from hearing the Word of God taught or preached (pre-digested food, i.e. MILK). Studying or rightly handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) is an essential skill acquired by the maturing believer. It involves considering the context of a passage of scripture, not reading into a passage meanings that aren’t there, taking into account the interplay of culture, history, etc.
All of this is part of our romancing the Lord with our minds and hearts – pursuing the food that fuels our pursuit of Him and His kingdom. Cherishing the Word, meditation and hunger for it, flow from this type of study. As God is revealed in the Word through daily chewing and absorption, our attitudes and outward actions change. When this is happening primarily apart from just “hearing” the Word of God taught and preached, then one has graduated from “milk” to “meat.” At this point, someone is also ready to teach or parent those still dependent on milk.”
Interesting analogy! What do you do to chew on the Word?
Here’s to our maturing spiritual digestive systems! 🙂