Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:13-14

Devotion

I was a wild child growing up. I’ve always been very active and a thrill seeker. My parents lost many nights of sleep because of the stunts I tried without fully thinking through the consequences. At a very early age, my mom told me, “Don’t touch the stove.” You probably had the same command given to you. You may have even told a child this same thing. There are times when we tell people things to keep them safe, and we know they do not have the maturity to understand exactly why we are saying it. They just have to trust what we say and that we have their best interest in mind. Overtime, as the child matures, we can explain to them that it is hard to know when the stove is hot or cold, so it is safest to assume it is hot and to not touch it until they can confirm the temperature.

A similar thing happens in our faith journey. At some point in our lives, most of us have had someone tell us that Jesus loves us. At first, we might only trust it because we trust the person who is telling us. If we mature in our faith, we can start to better understand what it actually means and experience Jesus’ love firsthand.

Hebrews 5:13-14 says, “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

When children are infants, we feed them milk. As they grow and age, we must start to transition them to solid food. If we don’t, their development would be stunted. As we grow in our spiritual lives, we need to move from milk—which are the basic teachings, similar to “don’t touch the stove”—to the more advanced solid food, where we understand why we shouldn’t touch the stove. Verse 14 says, “...by constant use [they] have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

As we enter this New Year, I challenge you to wean yourself from the “milk” and consistently participate in spiritual training. For some, this might mean attending Sunday worship more regularly. For others, it could be time to join a Sunday School or Wednesday Night class. For others, it could be prioritizing your quiet time over the everyday urgencies that pop up in life. Whatever it is for you, my hope is that you consistently train yourself to be able to distinguish between good and evil, and I believe God’s will for your life will become clearer than ever before.

PRAYER

Lord, we want to know you more. Bring people into our lives to help encourage us and keep us accountable. Give us the strength to consistently train, and fill us with the Holy Spirit. As we continue to mature, guide our steps so we clearly know which direction will bring you the most praise. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Marc Taylor
Edmond Location Pastor

Marc desires to lead the pastors, staff, and congregation of Crossings Edmond to a full life in Christ while being on the same journey with them.

Resources

• Watch Time for Change by Senior Pastor Marty Grubbs
• Listen to Graves Into Gardens by Elevation Worship

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