Spiritual Spaghetti-O's
There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don't seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. Hebrews 5:11-14
Insight
There's a picture in my parent's living room of a young me that my mom loves to point out whenever we have a guest. She took a great deal of joy pointing it out to Jenn, my now wife. I’m a toddler in my highchair, covered head to toe in red sauce, with a bowl of Spaghetti-O's dripping from the head; a grin covers my entire face - the photo capturing my first experience with this 90's staple food.
Jenn might say otherwise, but I'm not as messy of an eater now, and my palate is a bit more refined. Still, if I asked her for Spaghetti-O's for dinner, she'd roll her eyes, laugh, and tell me to grow up, especially if I asked for a can with Sponge Bob Squarepants on the cover. She might call for a therapist if I took it further and asked her to spoon-feed me. After all, no one would want to spoon-feed a forty-three-year-old baby, it would be embarrassing for all parties involved.
As children grow, they begin to feed themselves. The same principle applies to Christ's followers. Everyone starts as a faith infant and needs someone older in Christ to help them walk and consume Scripture's powerful truth and wisdom.
Eventually, spoon-fed truth should give way to becoming independently dependent on Christ. The fork and knife reside in our hands, and we start to develop the tools for reading and understanding God's Word for ourselves. Finally, we can stomach hard truth, chewing on the implications of an encounter with Christ in our daily lives.
Problems arise when this spiritual progression and formation don't take place. A mature church, thriving, growing, and making an impact, is impossible if we act like infants with a diet consisting of nothing other than spiritual Spaghetti-O's.
In today’s passage, the writer of Hebrews is chiding the people for their laziness in understanding. Rather than teaching others at this point, they're still babies feasting on spiritual milk - needing someone to teach them the very first principles over and over again. Until we continually rely on the Holy Spirit and put godly wisdom into action, we have no business worrying about the rest of the menu. Growing up in Christ involves moving beyond the basics of the faith. Spiritually maturity gets produced through practice, so eat up.
Reflection
Where are you struggling to apply some foundational spiritual truths? Why did this aspect of your faith stick out?
Prayer
God, let my hunger for You be displayed in a posture of humility. Let me love simply, forgive boldly, and act courageously. To do so, I need to position myself as a student of Your heart. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.