Seeds for 04/24/2024 - 1 Peter 2:2-3
Scripture:
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Observation:
Peter offers the simple comparison of a newborn baby and he uses the word “crave.” The baby desires what it needs—milk. We often desire that which we do not need. We get our wants and needs confused. We must start fresh when we get to this place.
The analogy fits perfectly, of course, with the notion of being “born again,” which is found throughout the New Testament. Often a newer Christian has such a hunger for God that they desire what they do actually need—worshiping the Lord, a growing life of prayer, learning more of the Bible, Christian community that supports spiritual growth, and ways to serve the Lord. Christians who’ve been at it for a while have to be intentional about growing in their walk with the Lord and seeking times of renewal so they don’t get lax about their walk with Jesus.
The craving spiritual milk serves a vital purpose: “so that you may grow up in your salvation.” Again we see that salvation is both a moment and a process. It’s about being forgiven and reconciled to God in Christ, and also about growing up—transformation, maturity, Christlikeness. God saves us where we are, but not to stay where we are. We are called to grow.
The inspiration for this is beyond obligation. There are certainly “ought’s” and “should’s” but the great reason above them all is the goodness of God. When we get a taste of that, “ought to’s” become “get to’s.” We have a longing to seek the Lord, to pursue Him, to “hunger and thirst” for His righteousness. If our craving has waned, our next move is to seek His presence, to worship and pray and search the scriptures, that we may renew our hunger and thereby once again, “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Application:
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, give me a fresh taste of your goodness, that I may crave more of what my soul truly needs. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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