Growing Spiritually: You Never Outgrow the Word - June 8

Read 1 Peter 2:2

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Reflect

Prayerfully consider how much you’ve grown spiritually in the past year. What did you consume that contributed to your spiritual growth the most? What do you think hindered your spiritual growth the most?

There has been a lot of research about the benefits of a mother’s milk. According to studies a mother’s milk contains everything a baby needs to be well-nourished. Even if a baby is only nursed for the first few days after birth, they receive powerful antibodies that give their little immune systems a strong foundation for life.

In today’s verse, the apostle Peter urged believers to be like newborns and “long for the pure spiritual milk” (the milk being God’s Word). But here Peter wasn’t calling all of them immature “baby believers.” He was reminding them that we never outgrow our need for the perfect, sustaining nourishment of Scripture.

Babies instinctively seek out milk almost immediately after birth—it is their strongest desire. Likewise, God’s Word should always be our strongest desire because it meets our greatest need—fellowship with God.

Dr. Wayne Grudem wrote: “To drink the milk of the Word is to ‘taste’ again and again what he is like, for in the hearing of the Lord’s words believers experience the joy of personal fellowship with the Lord himself.”

Whether you grew up in a Christian home and were exposed to God’s Word from a young age, or you discovered the Bible late in life, the Bible continues to have a profound impact on our spiritual development. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been believers or how much we have grown spiritually. We will need the perfect nourishment of Scripture our entire lives.

Now, the content of a mother’s milk may change to meet her baby’s needs but the content of the Word of God never changes. In a similar way, the Word of God seems able to speak to whatever season of life or circumstance we may be in.

Need encouragement, comfort, or hope? You’ll find it in His Word. Need wisdom and guidance for life? It’s there in His Word. Need to be challenged to think and grow, or need to be rebuked or convicted of sin, you’ll find that in His Word as well. Most importantly, if  you are seeking truth and want to know who God is and how I to be made right with Him, you can find it in God’s Word.

While a mother’s milk perfectly meets the nutritional needs of their baby, babies eventually grow and mature beyond their need to be nursed. But believers never outgrow our need for “the pure spiritual milk.” We should never think that we don’t need to open our Bibles anymore because we’ve already read it or because we’ve graduated from seminary or because we memorized verses as a kid or because we hear a message from it every Sunday. If spiritual growth is the goal, Scripture provides the nourishment that drives that growth. May we always long for “the pure spiritual milk” no matter how old we are.

Respond

Lord, thank You for Your Word. I have tasted and I have seen that You are good (Psalm 34:8)! I have trusted in You for salvation. Now, help me to grow up in that salvation. Use the nutrition of Your Word to transform, renew, strengthen, and sanctify me so that I can develop and mature in Christ. Keep me longing for Your Word because my greatest desire is fellowship with You. Amen.

Reveal

How can you encourage other believers in your life to continue reading and interacting with Scripture?