The full experience

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. (I Peter 2:2-3 NLT)

Newborn babes cry out when they are hungry, don't they? Having an empty belly as a baby is cause for concern, causing them to raise their cries in order to have their need met. In much the same way, we might just realize we are 'spiritually' quite hungry, running on almost empty, desperately needing a 'refill' of our 'spiritual tank'. We might find ourselves 'crying out', hungry for more of God's presence, desperate for a touch from him. When we cry out, do you think God hears us? Does he have the exact 'resource' we need in order for our 'hunger' to be met? Is he going to ignore our need and give us something entirely different? He hears, he responds, and he has exactly what we need, even when we don't realize we need it!

The full experience of salvation involves us growing into it. This is what church folks refer to as the process of sanctification. The 'growing into it' process isn't always easy, as is the case with the babe who is also growing in fits and bounds. There will be 'immediate' growth, making it seem 'easy' to be walking with Jesus. There will be 'intermediate' growth, often unnoticed until something in our lives 'doesn't quite fit' any longer. There will also be 'long term' growth, perhaps not even realized until someone points out to us that something is 'different' about the way we act, talk, or think. We cannot rush our spiritual growth any more than we can rush a babe's growth. It happens when we are 'fed', well cared for, and in the process of time.

We often get a taste of something God is doing, or about to do in our lives. We may not know what it is, but we know it is 'necessary'. In much the same way as a babe weans from milk and begins to 'taste test' various foods, we begin to realize there is much we can do to incorporate more than the Sunday sermon into our lives. We might begin to seek 'spiritual food' out on our own, knowing we will always find an ample supply of it in his Word. As we learn to 'feed' from what he has provided, we certainly appreciate that scripture has 'various tastes'. Some of it lifts us up and is quite enjoyable to our 'spiritual palate'. Other parts of it might seem a little 'bitter' to our taste, making us shy away from it because it brings conviction or helps us realize we need to grow a bit more. 

Even the 'hard parts' of 'spiritual food' are necessary. The babe may not like spinach at first, but the benefits of the iron outweigh the resistance to eating it! The benefits of studying scripture will certainly outweigh any resistance we put up to taking it in - the easy to digest and the harder to digest! Just sayin!