Real Meat

 

“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 5:12-14, NET

DAIRY DIET

I remember the scene vividly. I was in my mid-twenties, not too far removed from that initial prayer for a radical faith. I was in the fellowship hall of a Methodist church in LaGrange, sitting next to my wife and friends Dave and Gina near the back of the room. Ray Vander Laan was teaching at the front. I was feverishly taking notes, astounded by the things I was hearing. This man was linking together scripture passages, bringing to light familiar verses using unfamiliar ones. To that point, I had considered myself fairly knowledgeable about the Bible. I had been fed a steady diet of biblical information through church, stories on tape, Christian books, videos, and radio. At that time, I devoured sermons by the handful. Yet I hardly ever cracked the scriptures for myself. And I was humbled in that moment, not by a man, but by the Spirit of God.

“I know nothing about the Bible,” I thought.

And that moment of conviction set me on a quest to know the scriptures for myself.

Even though I had been a Christian for two decades, I was truly not equipped to teach others. I thought myself mature, but I was an infant in the faith. I had grown up on a steady diet of sweet and familiar drink. Yet I kept wondering why it seemed that no matter how much I consumed, I never felt like I was satisfied.

In my adulthood, I have joined the ranks of many others that find dairy disagreeable to their bodies. However, I have come to realize that being lactose intolerant is God’s way of reshaping my diet for my better. Metaphorically speaking, once I got a taste for solid food and my faith began to mature, I became spiritually “lactose intolerant.” No longer was I able to digest the sweet formulas of men that were once easy and enjoyable to swallow. God was reshaping my whole diet of intake.

But what is this spiritual “solid food”? Well, let’s first look at what it is not.

SOFT SUSTENANCE

My kids have no love for a good steak. They complain about having to chew it, and their taste buds are better refined for cheap candy and fried “reconstituted meat” garbage like chicken nuggets. Reminds me of a video where chef Jamie Oliver shows kids how such things are made. Although the kids are disgusted as they watch inferior scraps and discarded flesh and bone being blended together, they all happily raise their hands to eat the finished product—much to the chef’s dismay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-aKqp1kzKg&t=23s

While one might expect a “baby” believer to complain about the labor in scripture study, or be unable to taste all the flavors in an exposited passage, there are too many advanced pew squatters that have little use for spiritual teeth. They consume only drive-through “on-the-go meals” that require little to no chewing. And I was among them.

Let’s take a deeper look at the Hebrews passage above. First, take note of the quilt of context. The author has brought to light deeper, spiritual lessons from the history and symbols of the Old Testament (i.e. Melchizedek, the Sabbath, Moses, angels, etc.). See how he reveals Christ in each of them, just as Jesus did to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27).

Next, let’s cross-reference the metaphor “milk” and find commonality with a fellow passage.

“So, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still influenced by the flesh. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people? For whenever someone says, ‘I am with Paul,’ or ‘I am with Apollos,’ are you not merely human?” –1 Corinthians 3:1-4, NET

Here we discover that “milk” is the “basic principles” that spiritual infants “still influenced by the flesh” can digest—physical instruction directly from physical preachers. The immature prefer softer, more palatable spiritual food that is blended, essentially regurgitated from another mouth. Their diet is comprised of “reconstituted meat,” instead of receiving premium spiritual cuts directly from the Spirit of God (1Co 2:12-16; 14:21). Those who follow this person or that person, relying on a human teacher for their spiritual nourishment, are individuals who have not grabbed the shovel for themselves (Mat 13:44-46). They are “children in [their] thinking” (1Co 14:20), and have shied away from the difficult task of listening to God directly (Exo 20:19-21).

FEED YOURSELF

I remember for all three of my children, there was a shift from milk to the mush of “baby food.” It wasn’t really drink, but it also wasn’t really solid food either. But soon after the child began to grab the spoon that approached their mouth, bits of solid food would be introduced. They could start feeding themselves using their own little hands.

It is true that our mission is to make disciples (Mat 28:19) and proclaim the gospel to all creation (Mar 16:15). But we are ultimately responsible for ensuring God develops only one soul—our own. And we cannot expect our relationship with Adonai to mature as long as we demand to be bottle-fed past infancy or content to eat only spoon-fed spiritual smoothies. He gives us spiritual “teeth” in which to tear into His word. But if we have neglected this practice, our spiritual growth will be stunted, our spiritual molars (especially ones of “wisdom”) will not surface (Psa 119:27). Even if we consider ourselves an “adult,” if we have not graduated to solid food, we are but a child boasting to be something he is not.

STRONG STEAK

And so we must mature beyond eating what others have chewed. Full development takes the difficult task of gnawing “strong meat” (Heb 5:14, KJV) away from bone. Like a laborious climb up a mountain to hear from God (ex: Moses in Exo 19:20; see Exo 20:21), precious wisdom comes only by actively chewing (by faith) on every word (Jam 1:5-6).

This is not to say that we disregard listening to godly ministers or neglect picking up another book. However, we must note that even while the physical activity looks the same for both the infant and the adult, one is “trained” to hear beyond mere words (Heb 5:14). The babe hears only physical sounds and is focused on understanding the human voice. The mature believer is listening for what the Spirit is saying through that speaker. He has been given “the mind of Christ” and is focused on spiritual words, and is now able to “discern all things” (1Co 2:13-16). When the mature listen to a sermon, they are not looking to be fed by another. They are humbly listening for directions to the feast, to be shown a premium cut of meat that they might have previously overlooked.

HUNT IT DOWN

"How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers. Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; he meditates (“hagah”) on his commands day and night." –Psalm 1:1-2, NET

“The Lord will be like a growling lion, like a young lion growling (“hagah”) over its prey. Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it, it is not afraid of their shouts or intimidated by their yelling." –Isaiah 31:4b, NET

See how the latter informs us better the former. We must “meditate” (“hagah”) upon the scriptures daily—not as void-seeking pagans, but as a lion over its prey. Let us be like a ravenous carnivore, enjoying a heavy meal for which we had to chase down, our satisfaction undeterred by the noise of enemy distractions. You have nothing to give if you have not sought it out for yourself. So set your heart to hunting (Mat 13:44-46). Then, you can begin to invite others to the endless banquet of God’s word (i.e. teach). And may we become so familiar with the taste of godly meat that we can smell the scent of reconstituted refuse and corrupted flesh (which is another topic) a mile away.

“As with choice meat you satisfy my soul. My mouth joyfully praises you.” –Psalm 63:5, NET

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.” –Jeremiah 15:16, NIV