The Apostle Peter wrote, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (I Peter 2:2).
The people to whom Peter was writing had been and were suffering from persecution. They needed strength, both from the word of God and from other Christians. Peter serves as a perfect example of a Christian who knew how to encourage and uplift others.
The words that Peter penned still needed to be heeded in our day. We NEED to “desire the sincere milk of the word” that we may grow as children of God. Spiritual food is needed today just as it was in the time of Peter’s writing. While we may not suffer from persecution as such, we are bombarded with immortality and worldliness almost every day. Without having a steady diet of spiritual food, the possibility of “perishing from hunger” exists.
The desire Peter talked about means to want for or to seek after. Just as the baby counts feeding time as an important event, so should the child of God count the time when the Bible can be studied. As one begins to take in the spiritual nourishment, the appetite for things spiritual should increase.
A steady diet of the word of God will help us to realize our need for God in our lives more each day. It will also help us come to realize our responsibility to “feed” the starving masses with this same word. We will yearn to fulfill the words of Christ, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:0Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19,20a). It will also better equip us to “…fear God and keep His commandments…” (Ecc.12:13). When we are constantly feeding upon God’s word, we should be filled with the desire to serve God faithfully.
Desiring the word is something that must last ur entire lifetime. Study of the word produces faith (Rom. 10:17), repentance (Luke 13:3), leading one to be willing to confess Jesus as the Son of God (Matt.
10:32), and then a desire to have one’s sins washed away by baptism (Acts 2:38). May we ever heed Peter’s admonition, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby:” (I Peter 2:2).
There have been three dispensations of time, the Patriarchal, the Mosaic, and now Christianity. God has never left man without direction. Even in the Garden of Eden, man was told by God things he was allowed to do and things he was not to do. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen.2:16, 17). It was during this period of time that God spoke to the fathers to direct them as to what was acceptable and what was not. It was during this time that God promised to send Christ, (Gen. 3:15; Gen. 12:1 – 3).
The first written law came in the time of Moses. God gave that law because of the sinfulness of the people. They had gotten away from God, so the Law was given to give them direction on how to get back to God until Christ would come (Gal. 3:19 – 22). Each person will give an account as to how they live their lives. Spiritual beliefs must be based on what the word teaches. God’s word is truth (John 17:17). If a person will believe in it and obey heaven will be their home for eternity.