Got Milk?

Weaning - The process of gradually introducing an infant to what will be its adult diet while withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk. The infant is considered fully weaned once it's no longer being fed breast milk. 

There are a few times throughout the NT where the word of God is referred to as “milk” for new believers. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:2) There are two truths that can be taken from this verse: 1. You can grow up in your salvation 2. Craving pure spiritual milk should be our response to tasting of the Lord’s goodness Salvation is an unbelievable gift but it is just the beginning for believers. Our joy after experiencing conversion is usually so great that it eclipses all else. The writer of Hebrews says, that is just a taste. God longs for us to grow up in our salvation. He doesn't want us to remain babes forever. Like any good parent, he wants us to develop and be healthy. As a baby, craving milk is natural. It is encouraged because that milk is necessary for that infants’ growth and development. Learning about God's grace and mercy and love is one of the most beautiful parts of being a new Christian. It's like discovering a whole new world we never knew existed. I've found that most new believers go through a “newborn phase” with God. It's a phase where God reveals Himself in the most awesome and unmistakable ways. God will let us cry and ball the house down over small issues because He knows that we don't yet know any better. He faithfully feeds us the milk of His word and takes joy in our milestones. I believe He is just as happy as an earthly father is when their child smiles for the first time, sits up or crawls. You name it, God is there proud of us and cheering us on. A foundation is laid in those early developmental stages, one that is sure and will not crumble. He opens our eyes to see that the end of sin is destruction. He teaches us fundamental truths (salvation, justification by faith, the importance of sanctification, doctrinal truths) that are designed to keep us grounded in Christ. When building a house, you don't build the foundation and then keep digging it up. That is futile work. You'll never get anywhere. Instead we lay a sure foundation of righteousness by faith in Christ and we build. When we get it wrong, He guides us in the way we should go. When we fall, He picks us back up and tells us to keep moving. And that's what the milk of the Word does. It builds a foundation. But there comes a time when we must be weaned from the milk of the Word and transition to the meat of the Word. Our lives should not be spent relearning lessons that should have been learnt five or ten years earlier. In His first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul told the church that he couldn't write to them as spiritual people but as carnal because there was much division among them concerning doctrine and teachings, along with strife and envy of each other. He rebuked them for being sexually immoral and for condoning sexual immorality. In his letter, he went over the foundational truths of the faith and the importance of unity among believers. If these are the signs of immature believers, then certainly the 21st century church needs a foundations refresher. Surely we need to understand the importance of unity and holiness again. I believe that in this time, when we should be on to deep spiritual truths, we are still stuck on the basics. We still have to be convinced to forgive, and esteem others above ourselves, convinced to abstain from sexual sin, convinced they we are saved through faith and faith alone, convinced that arguments about the outward adornments accomplishes nothing. Paul rebuked the church for such things! He admonished them for taking the sides of mere ministers of the gospel and bringing division amongst themselves over minor doctrinal differences. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:14 NIV. Solid food is for the decided heart. The one who has made up their mind to pursue God, all or nothing, the one who studies to show their self approved, a workman, not ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Remember, growth is never easy. There is always discomfort and stretching and we have to be willing to endure that discomfort instead of avoiding it or running away from it. When babies go through the teething process, it's difficult and it hurts. They're often uncomfortable and irritable but that discomfort is simply part of the process. Just like them, discomfort is part of our process and our journey to maturity. How can we grow, if every time God tries to wean us, we run back to milk because it's comfortable and comforting. We refuse to be weaned. The thing is the milk has already done all it can do. Your spirit is maturing to the point that it needs solid food. The meat of the word, understanding the Kingdom and walking in its power and authority, sacrificial love of others, developing the fruit of the Spirit and counting it all joy when we go through trials? Those are the things that are hard to digest. Milk alone can't sustain a preschooler far less a grown adult. If you feed a growing toddler milk only, he/she will become malnourished because their body needs solid food to function and grow. Can you imagine a 40 year old on a bus with a baby bottle in their mouth?! As comical as that image may seem, that's what some of us are doing. Milk might be easier to digest but it doesn't have the capability of sustaining a mature body or facilitating growth past a certain point. Yes we are born again and the milk of the Word is beneficial for our health and growth throughout our infancy in the spirit but as we grow, our diets must mature to supply our bodies with the necessary nutrients to support our growing spiritual frames. We should no longer need to be convinced of the importance of righteousness. The writer of Hebrews, calls such things ‘elementary truths’. We love the warmth and comfort of the milk we're used to so we continue to drink, not realising that we are becoming spiritually dull because our diet doesn't match our age in the spirit. This is not to condemn; we are free. This is God the Father calling you deeper, it is time to not just drink of salvation but of sanctification, of revelation and of the deep things of God.                          The Transition Babies don't go from milk to ribs and chips overnight. It just doesn't happen. An abrupt transition has the potential to do more harm than good. With babies, we start by giving them softer mashed/blended foods and as they grow, they're able to eat food and meat without blending or mashing. I guess what I'm saying is, walk with God. We have a tendency to lag behind or run ahead of Him instead of journeying with Him and keeping in step with Him. We all know that meat is both harder to swallow and harder to digest than liquids so it will take effort and perseverance to move from milk to meat but God is not a hard task master who expects the impossible. He says “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” so no matter what happens or what we go through or how hard the meat is to chew, swallow and digest, His GRACE is sufficient to bring us through it. We have the luxury of living in the peace of God no matter what is going on around us. It's progressive so be patient in the process. Remember there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. God has a whole new realm of truth to reveal to us in His word! Let's open our hearts and spirits to receive it! Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. Hebrews 6:1‭-‬2 “Ask and you shall receive.” We often quote this when referring to requests that can be manifested tangibly but God is oh so willing, to answer our requests for things unseen. We have the freedom to ask for revelation from God’s word! We have the freedom to ask God to develop in us the fruit of the Spirit and the perseverance to endure as He refines us. And beloved, we know that whatever we ask, He hears us and we have what we have asked for! Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:11‭-‬16 NIV