Compiled By: Lisa K Gonzales
From: The Life Application Study Bible
11 “There is so much more we would like to say about this. But you do not seem to listen, so it is hard to make you understand. 12 You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and can not eat solid food. 13 And a person who is living on milk is not very far along in the Christian life and does not know much about doing what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.” ~ Hebrews 5:11-14
The Jewish Christians described in this passage, were immature. Some of them should have been teaching others, but they had not even applied the basics to their own lives. They were reluctant to move beyond age-old traditions, established doctrines, and discussion of the basics. They would not be able to understand the high-priestly role of Christ unless they moved out of their comfortable position, cut some of their Jewish ties, and stopped trying to blend in with their culture. Real commitment to Christ moves people out of their comfort zones.
In order to grow from infant Christians to mature Christians, we must learn discernment. We must train our conscience, our senses, our mind, and our body to distinguish good from evil. Are you able to recognize temptation before it traps you? Can you tell the difference between a correct use of Scripture and a mistaken one? Our capacity to feast on deeper knowledge of GOD – “solid food” – is determined by our spiritual growth. Too often we want GOD’s banquet before we are spiritually capable of digesting it. As we grow in the Lord and put into practice what we have learned, our capacity to understand will also grow.
Father GOD, some of us have much to learn, and some of us are drinking milk when we should be feasting on solid food. LORD we understand that in order to grow we must learn discernment. We must train our conscience, our senses, our minds, and our bodies to distinguish good from evil. We ask YOU Father, to help us recognize temptations before it traps us and to be able to tell the difference between a correct use of Scripture and a mistaken one. Sometimes we hear spiritual phrases and we think we know what they mean and we say we want whatever the phrase has to offer. Help us to understand what it means to want YOUR banquet and that we must be spiritually capable of digesting it. These are more than just words Father GOD, this is serious spiritual food. As we grow in YOU LORD and put into practice what we have learned, we know our capacity to understand will also grow.
Photo: Jamestown (Virginia)
Photo By: Lisa K Gonzales
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