Hebrews 5:14

Hebrews 5:14

Solid food for the mature

I’ve often asked parents, and myself, did we ever teach our children to do wrong things or to sin? Did we teach them to lie, disobey, show a temper and manipulate situations for their own purposes? Of course not, those things are born within us all, we are human and as David writes, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”Psalm 51:5. One of the major roles of a parent is to teach their children about righteousness. Because so many parents have not been taught themselves it’s not surprising that children do not have a clue. One of the benefits about such teaching is that it allows us to distinguish good from evil, this takes many years with our natural children let alone the spiritual children!

The Apostle Paul takes this subject one step further when he writes to the Corinthians, “Brothers and sister, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk. Not solid food, for you were not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” 1 Corinthians 3:1-2. In Paul’s mind, maturity is measured by the extent to which we live according to the Spirit rather than the world. It’s quite easy to evaluate people’s spiritual maturity for it is reflected in everything they say and in what they do. 

How delightful it is to be able to feed solid food to mature believers and to discern their ability and willingness to choose good above evil in all that they do. Such teaching is not about commanding from the pulpit and constantly making rules and berating those who break them. Teaching for the mature involves helping our brothers and sisters to live according to the direction of the Holy Spirit rather than worldly rules that change as quickly as the weather! 

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