When a newborn goes for a check-up within a few weeks after his birth, one thing you know will be checked – the baby’s weight. If that child is not thriving, then everyone kicks into action to make sure the reason is discovered and the remedy set in motion. That being said, a few questions arise.
Are we thriving in life are do we need to change our diet? Ok, don’t stop reading yet. I am not going to lecture you (and by implication, myself) about physical food. In fact I am not going to lecture us at all. I do want us to consider how we are doing in our relationships with Jesus and then in our relationships with others. You know the first and second greatest commandments, right? In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus makes both very clear. But why is that really so important – to love God above all else and love others as we love ourselves?
I think I know. All other loves take us to places and to other “gods” that don’t love us back. We wind up loving something, being devoted to something or someone, and craving things that are personally destructive to us and others about whom we care deeply. Sounds like an addiction, doesn’t it? Do you know an addict? Have you ever been addicted to a substance or a person? You “had to have it”, “had to be with them”, or “had to do whatever it took to fulfill the craving”. Or so we believed.
My point is that once we have seen how good the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ really is, we don’t have to be satisfied with less. In fact we can crave more of Him – more time with Him, more of His Spirit’s control, more of His gifts, more of the fruit He produces. We don’t ever have to get enough because we simply can’t. His love is deeper than we can go and his peace passes our ability to comprehend it. So, go ahead “taste and see that the Lord is good”.
Just as a newborn baby desires pure milk from his/her mother, so we are told in 1 Peter 2:1-3 that we are to “desire the pure milk of the word, that you(we) may grow thereby”. Where are you getting the pure milk of God’s word? Are you reading it, worshiping God alongside others who love His word, listening to it read or being explained? Are you addicted to God’s presence, love, and blessings?
May I encourage you to start or begin again to memorize and meditate on God’s Word? Find a specific need in your life and the verses to correspond to it, offer a solution, or give encouragement then pray a few verses until you know them by heart. Think about them as you go to sleep at night and as you arise in the morning. Let God’s “pure milk of the word” be your constant companion. You will note that the Holy Spirit is the guide to truth so as you quote and rehears God’s Word, Holy Spirit is in you to apply and powerfully change your thoughts to Jesus’ thoughts and your heart will be encouraged and challenged in new ways – ways that draw you closer to God not away from Him, as too many of our old cravings did/do.
Perhaps you could begin praying specific scriptures for friends and family as well as for yourself.
Are you with me?