Being the youngest of two girls in my family, I did not grow up around babies or young children. And as a teenager and young college girl, I confidently declared that I did not like children, and did not want to have any. The truth was I knew nothing about kids and didn’t want to learn. Because of this ignorance of how to handle children, in college I majored in secondary education instead of elementary so that I would not have to go against my natural grain.
The day came however when after being married for almost two years I had my first child; a baby boy. “What to do with it?” I lamented so many times. “I already fed it, I already changed it, why won’t he stop screaming?” The struggle was real and the learning curve steep. The book, My First 300 Babies, was recommended to me and I began learning about feeding babies, through another book I learned about nursing a baby deeply and by making frequent trips to the lactation specialist at the local hospital I learned how to care for my baby’s nutritional needs. As I learned more and more on how to feed him, he began growing more and more. I still had a lot to learn about colic, gas, and being careful about what I was eating, but we were on our way. My newborn baby had an appetite that demanded that I nurse him every 2 -3 hours almost around the clock. For the first few months of his new life he had to be fed, fed often, and fed deeply. Growth was the natural result. 1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
As Christians, if we would grow beyond infancy in our spiritual journey, we must feed, feed often, and feed deeply of the Word of God. As the newborn baby will wail a blood curdling cry for milk, and truly must have it to survive, even so Christians must have the milk of the Word to grow. Not a sleepy dabbling at the Word, not a distracted playing with the Word; but a focused, down to business drinking, drinking long, and constant until filled. Not just a obligatory adherence to schedule; but often, regularly throughout the day, drinking deep of the Word of God.
A newborn Christian or a cold and stale Saint would be wise to begin in Matthew and read long. Asking the Holy Spirit as he reads to give him light and understanding. Read through the New Testament, not getting hung up or bogged down; just reading it through. Choose the Word. When you could check Facebook, grab the Bible. When you would turn on the TV, grab the Bible. When you could read a novel, choose the Bible.
Carry the Bible with you and let your waiting times be Bible reading times and let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Renew/reform your thinking by filling your mind so much with God’s Words, that His words become your thought processes. Spiritual growth will be the natural result.
Prepare for His Kingdom; Live for His glory by feasting on His Words.
