Cravings

1 Peter 2:1-3, "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good" (NIV).

This passage speaks in terms of food as did yesterday's passage.  If you didn't read "My Sweet Tooth", you might want to read that before reading this, for a point of reference.  As I was saying, I have a tendency to eat compulsively and I most definitely need to rid myself of that & daily give it to God.  In the physical I am giving over my compulsive behavior and giving up several foods that trigger it & in the spiritual God asks us to rid ourselves of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, & slander (go to www.dictionary.com if you need to).  When I give up my unhealthy eating choices I also gain many healthy eating options like delicious fruit among many other things God gave us for sustenance. The more I eat them the more delicious they are.  In the spiritual when I rid myself of those things with the help of the Holy Spirit I also gain the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22-23).  Just as I have tasted that strawberries, blueberries, mangos, etc... are delicious and getting better; I will also continue to taste that the Lord is good!

Amelia is 10 months old now and is my 4th baby, I know all too well how a newborn baby craves milk!  She still gets a bottle now, but when she & each of her siblings was a new baby they would eat every 3 to 4 hours... sometimes 2.  They would each whimper & eventually cry if they got hungry; when milk was finally given each one of them had excitement that was obvious.  A newborn in Christ  will also crave "spiritual milk" so that they can "grow up".  This old Sunday School song comes to mind: "Read your Bible pray everyday and you'll grow, grow grow... Don't read your Bible forget to pray and you'll shrink, shrink, shrink..."  Reach for spiritual milk (ie: the Bible & prayer) & crave the answers in it!  The entire goal behind it all is that we grow!!  "The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity but to help you conform to Christ's image" (Howard Hendrix, Living by the Book).   This reminds me so much of what I said in yesterday's post about finally reaching for healthy food and learning how delicious it was and realizing how much better I felt as a result of a healthy diet & exercise. In the spiritual I will rid myself of spiritual junk & "feel better" walking with the Lord and gaining the Fruit of the Spirit with Bible reading & prayer.