Sup guys,
Hebrews 5:11-14; 6:1-3 (http://tinyurl.com/yk2a98p, http://tinyurl.com/ylalbte)
I've been told that chapters and verses weren't in original scriptures but were a later addition. The same goes for those lil one-line description for sections of bible. Like the one just above Hebrews 6, "Warning Against Falling Away." I often use these descriptions to zero in on passage i want to read and that particular one (above hebrew6) caught my eyes this morning because right below it, i had the "you need milk not solid food" passage highlighted. It got me wondering what food had to do with falling away, this was what I learnt.
The author was lamenting hte lack of spiritual growth in the hebrew church, the analogy used was how they're still stuck on baby food when they should be eating steak. I think it is important to eat spiritual foods that match our state of growth. As a new believer, it isn't wise to dive right into heavy theology/service. It would be like a beginning guitarist refusing to do basic drills and instead tries to learn to play a song that is waaaay beyond his skill level; then, getting discouraged, he quits guitar entirely. I think in teh same way new believers have certain crucial foundations in their understanding of God that needs to be laid, without which they're likely to fall away in times of trials and persecution.
But there's a second warning here in Hebrews 6. I imagine most christians on this list DO have solid foundations in their understanding of Christ. An adult would find no satisfaction in eating baby food alone. In the same way, once that guitarist masters his basic drills - unless he moves onto more advanced lessons, he'd quickly lose interest and end up quitting for lack of challenges as well. To not grow in our spiritual life is to stagnate. We're meant to be challenged in our faith, to continuously seek out new understandings of God instead of sitting on the basic foundations that originally brought us into christianity. Often times i find my spiritual walk to be little more than an endless cycle of sin and repentance. Not that we are to stop repenting, but if that is all our christianity is made up of we'll be stuck in that cycle not GOING anywhere. Humans aren't designed to live unchallenged lives. Being stuck in that cycle without any growth and without constant examples of God's grace/love in our lives as proven by hardships and lessons learnt, we will find our faith growing stagnant and like that guitarist, see little point in continuing in something we're so passionless about. Worse yet, we simply get by on routine and pretense - alive on the outside, spiritually dead on the inside - and deceive ourselves and others into thinking we have New Life.
Encouragement for the week, seek to challenge yourself beyond the barest minimum of christianity. Foundations and basics are important but passion demands growth. There is more to THIS than sin/repentance, I want us all to press on towards greater maturity in Christ and to continuously seek to challenge our faith without taking on more than we're able (by God's grace) to handle. Lets constantly delve into deeper things of God and stretch our capacities to love, to learn, to sacrifice, and to grow.
Have a happy wednesday!
Edward
"These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!" - Acts 2:15
"Then [Jesus] told them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.' They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine...This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him." - John 2:8-11
(happy st paddy's =D)
awesomest gift idea ever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9hnZX6eyTA&feature=related
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