I said, “Look, I have come.
….As is written about me in the Scriptures:
I take joy in doing your will, my God,
….for your instructions are written on my heart.” Psalm 40:7-8 NLT
John 4:27-34 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of my littles was talking with me a few weeks back while she waited to get off the bus and go to school. She has a baby sister who is starting to eat more solid food and her sister really liked her pureed butternut squash. When I asked the older sister if she liked it too, she shook her head “no” but said she liked some of the fruit ones, if I remember correctly.
All of us start out with basic nourishment – a mother’s milk or formula of some sort. We ingest what is best for us at the time but eventually, to grow the way we need to, we move up the food chain, to pureed baby food, and then on to a greater variety of solid food.
If we refused to leave the milk stage, we would be physically challenged to grow and develop as we should. Our bodies and even our brains would not reach their full potential due to a lack of proper nourishment. We would never choose to go that direction and our parents would not allow us to anyway. So that being the case, why do we do the exact opposite spiritually?
The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:1-3,
Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? NLT [emphasis mine]
When the disciples returned to find Jesus talking with the Samaritan women they were shocked. v27 When she ran into town, they urged Jesus saying,
“Rabbi, eat something.”
But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”
Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. vs31,32,34
The Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation has this to say regarding verse 34:
The “nourishment” about which Jesus was speaking was his spiritual nourishment. It includes more than Bible study, prayer, and attending church. Spiritual nourishment also comes from doing God’s will and helping to bring his work of salvation to completion. We are nourished not only by what we take in, but also by what we give out for God.
Unfortunately, many faithful, church-attending followers of Christ are malnourished…and we have no one to blame but ourselves. We say we pray but we struggle with it. We know we need to read and study God’s word, but we come up with all kinds of excuses not to. We can’t even bring ourselves to get the foundation stones of truth set, so how in the world are we going to genuinely do God’s will and help to bring His work of salvation to completion?
More than a few Christians are infants in Christ, though we’ve claimed to follow Him for decades! But we’re still stuck on the bottle! Lord Jesus, help us to see our need! May we break out of our complacency! May we see our malnourished state for what it truly is! May we have a ravishing hunger for You and all that is Yours! Amen (so be it)!
May 3rd, 2021, Mon, 7:57 pm
