Good Morning Friends,
“We have much to say about this, but it is
hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you
ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of
God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on
milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about
righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have
trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:11-14)
Let’s see: slow to learn, need elementary
truths, still on the bottle, not even to baby food, infant, not mature. The
Hebrew writer had a way with words, didn’t he? I don’t think he was
deliberately trying to offend his readers, just shock them into opening their
eyes and recognizing their need to grow. Sometimes we all need a good kick in
the seat of the pants. And we need someone who is bold enough and who loves us
enough to give it when we need it!
What the writer said was not mean-spirited,
or designed to hurt. It came from his love and concern for the Hebrews. They
were in danger. There was so much in Christ that they had not yet discovered
because they were stuck in the nursery. They needed to move beyond the nursery
and get on to the good stuff.
Can you imagine someone enjoying the
elementary school band so much that he wouldn’t leave it? How sad! There is so
much more to music than what the elementary school band can play. Just one
listen to a high school band gives some idea, and how about a London
Philharmonic concert! How sad to be stuck in elementary school.
And, in Christ, there is much more than just
the elementary truths of the Gospel. For the Hebrews, it was time to move on
and begin to learn some of the deeper truths and to move beyond just being
learners to teaching others what they had learned. They needed someone to kick
them out of their comfort zone.
Perhaps some of us do, too!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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