Have you ever heard people refer to either the milk or meat of the Word? They are talking about a level of spiritual depth, contrasting the stuff of beginners with that which is reserved for the mature. The idea comes from a scathing rebuke from Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2:
“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready.”
Brand new believers are like spiritual infants, babies that cannot chew solid food. They are learning the basics, like the reliability of the Bible, the importance of belonging to a church, and how to pray. They are not ready for solid food, things like understanding the Trinity or deciphering the book of Revelation.
The goal is to grow. If you have been a believer for a while, you should be progressing towards solid food. That might mean eating bananas before beef, but it is a process. We seek to move our disciples forward. That is why we often talk about moving from milk to meat.
But one thing we don’t say as often is that milk is still important. We move from milk to meat, but that doesn’t mean we swear off milk; we just swear off exclusively being nourished by milk. Milk is not bad, and unless you have a lactose intolerance, we all benefit from the calcium and vitamin D it provides.
As a Christian, then, it is good to have a little milk in our diet. We never outgrow “the basics,” as it is beneficial to remind ourselves of the truth. Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi famously began the first practice of every season by saying, “Gentlemen, this is a football” as he held up the object for which their sport was named. He then demonstrated how to put on socks and shoes.
Lombardi insisted that mastering the fundamentals was the key to success, and today the Super Bowl trophy is named in his honor. The professional athletes he coached were on the meat of their sport, so to speak, but he made sure to give them the milk as well.
Christian, as you progress towards meat, and include it in your diet, don’t forget the milk. Master the fundamentals, and you can have a successful life.
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