Friday, 22 October 2021
“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.” – Hebrews 5:12 NLT
One of my favorite movies growing up was called Pay It Forward. It’s about a boy who came up with an idea that when someone does a favor for him, instead of returning the favor he would do a favor for three different people. By doing this, he believed that the world would be a better place. If every person on Earth was kind to three different people and they, in turn, do the same for others, then the results would lead to an exponential graph of kindness. You are blessed to be a blessing to others.
In the above Scripture, the author is highlighting a very important principle about the kingdom of God. The principle of maturing in the faith so that your gifts can be used to help others to mature. He is reprimanding Christians that are refusing to grow and reminding them that they should now be at a level where they ought to be teachers of the Word, instead, they are still babies and still require milk for sustenance. He is highlighting the fact that their refusal to grow is a hindrance to the natural way of growth for believers. They’ve had their turn to be nourished and by now they should be nourishing others into maturity.
“If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad”, 1 Corinthians 12:26 NLT. We know that as believers we rely on each other for the system to function optimally and if some parts are not pulling their weight, it affects the other parts. For example, if a tall, muscular and handsome male who has an amputated right foot walks past you, the first thing you focus on is the handicap before you notice his “normal” features. In the same way, all the members could be performing at their peak, but the non-functioning part drags everyone down. You are as strong as your weakest link, so Christians who aren’t growing are selfish because their refusal to grow is directly affecting others in the body (They became believers because others matured and preached the Gospel to them). I say “refusal” because Holy Spirit has been freely given to all of us and as a spiritual being, my growth should be automatic/natural if I’m submitted to Him. And those that refuse to submit refuse to grow, and they directly affect the homeostasis.
“For GOD is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him”, Philippians 2:13 NLT. GOD has done His part to aid us in our spiritual maturity, He’s done this through the Holy Spirit. So those that aren’t growing are doing it by choice. We then go back to the original question, “How long will you still require the milk?”
Holy Spirit has been freely given to all of us and as a spiritual being my growth should be automatic/natural if I’m submitted to Him
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