Not Yet Ready For Solid Food
Photo by Derek Owens on Unsplash
When Is It Time to Feed Ourselves?
When should a baby begin to eat solid food? What foods are best to start with? What if they don’t let you feed them? When it comes to food and children, opinions abound. And I’ve heard some pretty strong opinions expressed on this subject!
As a pastor, I learned long ago that it’s not my place to advise mothers about raising their kids. So, I’m certainly not in a place to tell a mom when their child should move from milk to solid food. My area of expertise is with spiritual food—God’s Word.
Most mothers expect their children to eat solid food and feed themselves by the time they start preschool, or at least by kindergarten. But what about spiritual food? When should a Christian believer begin to take on meatier truths and to feed themselves?
In some ways, I’ve seen way too many Christian believers who still seem to need or want someone else to feed them spiritual food. It seems we expect more from our children than from adults in churches. At least, that’s what I’ve observed as a pastor, missionary, and disciple maker over the years.
It would be easy to bemoan the lack of commitment among believers in the church today. Or the apparent spiritual lethargy of many believers. Although we could make a case for that, this is a centuries-old dilemma.
The expectation for when a follower of Jesus ought to feed themselves spiritual food is not a 21st century issue.The Book of Hebrews emphasizes the importance of this for believers. However, I’ve learned that expectations are the fertile ground for disappointment.
Scripture Text
We have a lot to explain about this. But since you have become too lazy to pay attention, explaining it to you is hard. By now you should be teachers.
Instead, you still need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food. All those who live on milk lack the experience to talk about what is right. They are still babies.
However, solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to know the difference between good and evil. (Hebrews 5:11-14 GW)
[Context– Hebrews 5]
Key Phrase —
Solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice.
Dig Deeper Into the Text—
As seen in this text, what seems to prevent further explanation of the truth?
What do you think the author means by "too lazy to pay attention"?
Why are these believers scolded? What is expected of them?
How are "elementary truths" described in comparison to solid food?
Things to Consider—
These last few verses in chapter 5 lead into the third of five strong warnings in the Book of Hebrews. It comes across as the stern scolding of a parent to a self-willed child.
Learning anything is a transactional process, especially spiritual truth. How much time and effort a person invests to learn something is directly proportional to what they learn. This is also true with learning spiritual truth, which needs to become a personal discovery.
Gaining knowledge without genuine understanding is useless. If that’s all you want, just search Google, Wiki-pages, or YouTube. But trying to gain spiritual insight online is a risky endeavor. There’s a lot of worthless information out there.
Real learning requires an interactive process of discovery, then applying that understanding in real life. As Jesus told His closest disciples, "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them" (John 17:13). Notice that Jesus puts the emphasis on doing, not knowing.
Not only did Jesus emphasize the necessity of acting on what we know, so did the apostles James and John (James 1:22; 1 John 3:18). This is what we’re told in verse 14—
However, solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to know the difference between good and evil.
Every follower of Jesus is responsible to feed themselves for their own spiritual growth. God reveals the truth of His Word to those who read, understand, and apply the truth in daily life. This is our responsibility, not someone else’s
When we "talk the talk, but don't walk the walk," we're like spiritual babies. There comes a point where each believer needs to put what they've learned into action, rather than trying to learn more and more.
Are you a mature, living example for others, or are you struggling to understand God's Word? Maturity comes as we live the truth out in daily life, not just talk about it. If you're ever learning but not strong in your faith (2 Tim 3:7), it's time to grow up!
Answer These Questions to Apply God’s Word in Your Life—
Who are people that can handle spiritually solid food?
What seems to be the key to becoming a mature believer?
Are you willing and ready to live out the truth in practical ways?
How are you currently practicing truth you've learned in your daily life?
Here’s a link to a free study guide for the book of Hebrews— Study Guide and Study Questions for Hebrews
