“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature …” Hebrews 5:12-14
Have you ever met Christians who claim to just have a simple faith in Jesus? There are those who wear their lack of biblical knowledge almost as a badge. They point to passages such as Matthew 18:3, where Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!” And somehow they consider it an honour to be as ignorant of much of Scripture as little children are. But Jesus is praising humility in that passage, not ignorance. There is a great difference between childlike faith and childish faith!
Small children implicitly trust their parents to provide all they stand in need of, but they lack knowledge of how their parents provided. But the author of the book of Hebrews says that children must grow up. Children must add solid food to their diet, and so become strong and mature. It is by having a deep understanding of who our God is, and how He has provided for our greatest need, that we can grow strong and mature in our faith. Such maturity only comes through serious study of the Word of God. And as the days become more evil, the Church of God needs mature believers whose faith will not become choked out by the cares of this world or by the deceitfulness of riches, and who will stand strong even when faced with persecution and tribulation. A deep, unswerving faith in God, will only come as we are serious about knowing the God we serve!
An increased knowledge of our God and His Word will not only serve to preserve us through difficult days in the future, but it will also serve to increase our love for our Saviour in the present! And greater love for our Saviour will result in greater obedience and will fuel more passionate worship! May God enable each of us to not settle for the milk of His Word, but to grow strong through the solid food of His Word!