Milk and Solids

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.  Hebrews 5:11-14

I have a friend who adopted a child from a developing nation.  When the baby arrived in America, she was small for her age and underweight.  My friend was told that the orphanage had given the infants powdered milk instead of formula because it was less expensive.  It had been sufficient for survival, but the baby had not thrived.

The warning in Hebrews 5 against apostasy reminds me of this friend’s baby.  A lot of us can recite the gospel message and even claim salvation, but when it comes to life and decisions, consult our own feelings pretty exclusively.  If apostasy sounds like a harsh label, consider that when we box the gospel out of our daily lives, it’s a withdrawal, a desertion of the faith we claim.

“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil,” writes the author in verse 14.  This writer has little faith in our feelings or guts even to identify, much less choose, the right.  He says we require vigilant training; discernment is more complex than how we feel or even reason.  That means it takes more than just saying, “I’m saved.”  If our view of the gospel and its applications is shallow, we will fail to thrive.

Salvation is not like a club initiation.  It’s more like teaching my three-year-old to read.  It’s repetition and practice and sometimes correction.  It’s a course by which the gospel continually illuminates new areas in our lives that are ripe for growth or change.  It’s transformation by process, not by lightning flash.  If you’ve been dabbling in milk and relegating the gospel to the sidelines of your life, maybe it’s time for some meat and potatoes.