Feasting on Solid Food

Recently, Brooks called me outside to look at the baby blue birds in their nest in the bluebird box. Just a few weeks before we had only seen one egg, therefore we were shocked to see four little tiny birds in the box! That day as he opened the top of the box all four babies were waiting with mouths wide open for the mama bird to come and feed them. Bluebirds do not regurgitate food for the babies as do some birds, in this family the daddies supply the mama birds with small, soft insects which they feed to the hatchlings. While peering into the bird box amazed both by the fact that we had four birds not just one and that they were so very tiny to be on a “soft food” diet; the following scripture came into my mind, 1 Corinthians 3:2. Paul is referring to immature Christians needing to be spiritually fed by milk like babies when he says, “I gave you milk to drink instead of solid food, because you weren’t up to it yet.” (CEB)

I like the explanation provided on www.reviveourhearts.com, which says, “The Bible talks about milk and solid food in reference to our spiritual growth. When we first come to faith in Christ, we begin with milk; we begin with the basics of the gospel. As we grow and mature, we start feasting on solid food. We dig deeper into Scripture. We learn more about the doctrines of God. Throughout our life of faith, we continue to eat rich spiritual food.” (CEB) I think this explains the scripture reference very well. As for our baby birds; as they grow the female will increase the size and toughness of their food, as we grow in our Christian walk we should be digging deeper into God’s Word thereby increasing the size and toughness of our scriptural diet.

Like babies transitioning to solid food, we have to develop a taste for it. They say it takes at least ten times of trying a new food before you like it. When it comes to feasting on God’s Word, we develop the taste and desire for it through practice. The more we read and study, the more God’s Word transforms us, and the more we realize how much we need it. In Hebrews 5:12-14 we find the following instruction: “Although you should have been teachers by now, you need someone to teach you an introduction to the basics about God’s message. You have come to the place where you need milk instead of solid food. Everyone who lives on milk is not used to the word of righteousness, because they are babies. But solid food is for the mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between good and evil.” (CEB)

There are days that I feel that I have regressed to having to be fed “milk” again. I think this is not unusual because we are after all, in our hearts, sinful creatures. We can though, ask for forgiveness and delve back into the Word … returning to solid food.

If you find yourself as I do sometimes, I encourage you to make this prayer part of your daily quiet time prayers:

Sovereign God,

Your word calls us to come to Christ like little children, dependent upon His grace; we are not to remain as children but to grow and mature in the faith, moving from milk to solid food. May we feast on Your Word, savor its taste, and hunger for it all our days.

In the name of your Son, Jesus,

Amen