Milk and Meat in the Christian world really has little to do with the length of time one has been a Christian. It has more to do with how you’ve applied yourself. While you wouldn’t give a steak to a baby, you also wouldn’t give only milk to a person who needs strength to do their work. In so many ways we are encouraged to study so that we can handle the issues that arise as we walk out our Christianity.
In 1Timothy 2:15 we are admonished to study in order to show ourselves approved. Hebrews 5:12-14 tells us that,”… everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled… for he is a babe.” The reason for the solid food (meat) is so that we can discern both good and evil. At the beginning of our growth we are encouraged (1Peter 2:2) to desire the pure milk of the word…. Milk is not the stopping place, it is the beginning, the launching pad.
You may not feel called to the full-time ministry but we all have been given the commission to go and make disciples, at least in our world. Obviously you can’t make disciples without knowing and knowing comes from study. And study takes time, and diligence, and commitment – and this needs to be done joyful or it won’t become part of you. Remember back to your school life – those subjects that you really didn’t enjoy or become fascinated by, how much do you remember? Probably not much. The same is true in your Christian study. If it isn’t important to you, if you don’t see the relevance for yourself then your involvement is merely mechanical.
Actually, you should want to grow and learn, to understand and appreciate. Time spent in study, whether alone or in a group of like minded people, should engage you and motivate you to discover what the Lord is trying to teach you – not what man says you should believe. Desiring the meat will equip you to face and embrace your day as well as preparing you to make disciples. Why would you want only milk?
…but, what do you believe?
