GROWING UP
Hebrews 5:8-9
“Although He [Jesus] was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him…”
Hebrews 5:8-9
“Although He [Jesus] was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him…”
Kedah held the spoon of strained peaches to her brother Salaam’s mouth. “When can we feed him real food, Mama?”
“Kedah, you are feeding him REAL food! Strained fruit is just easier for him to digest inside his tiny body. When he grows up some, he’ll be able to digest solid food. ”
“Like food that he’ll have to chew?”
“Yes. He needs teeth to chew! Baby bodies take baby steps to grow into children. He’ll grow up from taking baby steps to running—then you’ll remember the days when you were his boss!”
Kedah’s eager for her little brother to grow up and play with her. God is excited, too, for His children to grow up and eat His solid food (Hebrews 5:12-14). While Jesus had no problem submitting to the Father, He shows His siblings (you and me) how to submit our will to Him.
Flesh man (believer’s residue from our old nature—transforms into Spiritual man, after salvation) resists submitting control to another (see Spiritual Hierarchy devotion). Our heavenly Father longs to bless us with His best. The only way this happens is when we embrace His will for our lives, and follow the Holy Spirit’s lead.
Choosing to relinquish (ri-LING-kwesh, meaning to give up, abandon) control over our lives, and yielding to God’s will ends our being tossed about on the Flesh Man/Spiritual Man roller coaster. This marks our graduating from milk to solid food in our Spiritual diet of growth.
1Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that you may grow up in your salvation…taste that the Lord is good.”
Without the Spirit’s control, the Natural man and Flesh man are spiritual babies, ruling the person by desires, rights, and expectations. Until Biblical truths (milk) are grasped and applied to their lives, they cannot grasp the deeper things of Scripture (solid) food. Solid food is for the mature. When do we grow out of drinking Spiritual milk, the building blocks of our growth? Growing up into solid food lays the foundation for mature faith in God (Hebrews 6:1-3).
Until then, believers’ spiritual growth is marking time, stagnant.
Courageous warriors, march forward to your victory!
Take Home Nugget
Giving up control is difficult. But with God Almighty residing inside believers, what’s our problem? Can we surrender, rely on, and trust God?
A Prayer: Lord, teach us to surrender ourselves into Your capable, strong hands. May Your desire be our desire, Your will be our will. May You be known and exalted by our every thought, word, and deed. AMEN
DEDICATED TO HELEN HOFFMAN ON HER 91ST BIRTHDAY!
J.D. Griffith
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