08 01 07 A Diet Without Meat


“On this topic we have much to say and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing. For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:11-14)

As we learn about the things of Christ, we should be sharing with those around us. There is always someone that knows more and someone that knows less. Many believers stop at the believing part however. We don’t continue to grow in our faith or in our relationships with other believers. When challenged by our faith, we tend to slip back into our old ways of thinking rather than allow the Lord and His word (and those stronger than we are) to take us to a higher level of faith. We keep feeding upon the milk bottle rather than progressing to the solid food, the tougher challenges of our faith. A DIET WITHOUT MEAT (and/or protein) is lacking the nutrients that enable us to grow.

Nothing is more challenging to my faith than my role as husband and father. As my children grow in years, I am challenged day after day to act and react by faith and not by flesh. It’s not easy. I fail many days. Thank God for His grace, His Word, and the counsel of Godly men and women beyond my level of faith! They have challenged me to keep growing and refuse to allow me to fall back into my fleshly nature for too long! They refuse to give me a bottle, even a pacifier to suck on. Solid food is for the mature!

There will be some things we do not quite understand as we go along in our Christian walk. As we face challenges, we need to keep feeding on His Word and the experience of seasoned saints to stay on a steady diet of solid food, as opposed to baby milk. We grow spiritually as we meet these challenges. In my experience, apologizing for failing, to my wife and kids, is the biggest test of my faith and how I am growing. Am I willing to let them see me at my most vulnerable?

Yes, God knows our weaknesses. It’s rather easy to apologize to our Father and admit we were wrong. His Word tells us however, that we must confess our sins one to another: that as we forgive others, the Father forgives us! The toughest food we men need to digest is the meal of humbleness in admitting we have failed. We’re good at excuses though!

I surrender all: my weaknesses, my guilt, my failures, and my pride. I surrender all to Jesus. He is my High Priest who intercedes for me even now to my DADDY in heaven. I surrender all to His Spirit who wants complete residence in my heart. I surrender all to my Father in heaven and desire to live my life for Him, not to go back to milk, but to feast on the solid food of Scripture and to influence others for Him!