1 Peter 2:2-3                 

NASB	NLT	VOICE
2 and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,	2 Like newborn babies, you must cave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation, Cry out for this nourishment,	2 Be like newborn babies, crying out for spiritual milk that will help you grow into salvation
3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.	3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.	3 if you have tasted and found the Lord to be good.

One common characteristic of children is that there is a yearning to want to grow up and be an adult. They might want to be like a sibling, a family member, a mentor, or one of the role models that they’ve followed for years. For me, that was Markiplier. When we are born again, we become spiritual newborns. Born again refers to the baptism we experience in our journey of following Jesus. When we break through the waters of our baptism, whether it be a full submerging or a cover of the Holy water itself, we wash away our old selves that didn’t know or follow Christ and became a new person called by God to go forth and fulfill our creation vows. The goal is to reflect the life of Jesus, and the more we learn about who God is and study his scripture with a body of believers, the more we find God impacting different parts of our lives.

The need for milk is a common instinct for a baby. It’s a sign that they are hungry/thirst and are in need of nourishment to keep their body healthy and grow in ways that are supposed to occur. Just as a baby wants their milk, we need God. Once we see our need God’s word impacting the deepest part of our souls and the nourishment, we need from Christ to go out with the strength needed to accomplished the tasks that lie before us, our spiritual appetite increases. Our spiritual maturity starts. We are able to discern things that were wrong that we once viewed as right, and vice versa. We are able to hear things that we don’t agree with, that we once did. We are able to stop relationships that don’t help us that we once were in.

Hebrews 5:12-13                 

NASB	NLT	VOICE
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the actual words of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.	12 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 cannot eat solid food.	12 By this time, you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet I feel like you want me to reteach you the most basic things that God wants you to know. It’s almost like you’re a baby again, coddled at your mother’s breast, nursing, not ready for solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant	13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.	13 No one who lives on milk alone can know the ins and outs of what it means to be righteous and pursue justice; that’s because he is only a baby.

These Jewish Christians were immature and lazy. Some people should have been actively teaching others, but they didn’t even apply the foundational principle of their faith to their own lives. They focus on the traditions, doctrines, and discussions of the basics. This is how people can get stuck in their faith and walk with Christ. When we go out and focus on the traditions of what we learned, sticking with the doctrines we were taught without being flexible of learning or unlearning new things, and talking the talk without walking the walk, we get stuck. We must keep our focus on Jesus’ teaching: go out and love God and love others. We overcomplicate it with our focus on religiosity, denominational perspectives, and family traditions. We treat others different, often worse, because they are a Christian in ways that don’t align with our upbringing and traditions.

The thing I’ve learned in my walk with Christ over this last decade is that there are different flavors of Christianity. Some more radical, some more progressive, some more conservative – but all comes from different interpretations of the same book, and all have the same goal. Some of this will pull us out of our comfort zone when these different flavors intertwine, but the different paths all merge into one. The path of eternality to a life in Kingdom of Heaven.

Psalm 34:8  

NASB	NLT	VOICE
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!	8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!	8 Taste of His goodness; see how wonderful the Eternal truly is. Anyone who puts trust in Him will be blessed and comforted.

“Taste and see” doesn’t mean “Check this out! You’ll love it. It’s credible. It’s good.” It’s a warm invitation, “Try this; I know you’ll like it.” It’s an invitation, one we often force on those who aren’t ready or do not want it. We forcibly spoon-feed people the teachings of God and an agenda-filled teachings at that. People need to be free to test it. To try it. To walk in and out of different churches and different denominations and branches of Christianity. Again, we all walk to the same goal but are taking different routes to get there. When we take that first step toward getting to know God, we discover that he is good and kind. Our knowledge will get stronger the more we lean into God’s teaching and study his word. It’s a life long process that will continue until we meet in heaven.

Next slice of Manna: Manna for the Mind #190