As Newborn Infants.....

           These past few days, God has been working in my heart, and showing me some deep-rooted issues that I need to change. He is so patient and gentle with me, as He deals with the sin in my heart, but it is painful to realize just how sinful I really am. At the same time, I am so glad that He shows me things in my life that need to change so that I can become more like Him.

          This morning I read 1 Peter 2: 1-3: “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 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.”

           Having had five children, I could really relate to the word picture of a newborn infant desiring milk! Our first child nursed about every four hours as a newborn, but I soon learned that that was pretty unusual. In the first weeks of their lives, most of our other children nursed very often – sometimes every hour! I sometimes struggled to know why it seemed like they were nursing constantly, until I found out that a newborn baby's stomach is the size of a cherry!! No wonder they seemed to be constantly hungry!

           

         
           Our desire for the Word of God should be like a newborn baby's longing for milk. In order to get rid of ugly sins in our lives – things like malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander – we need to have a steady, constant diet of God's word. Just like it's not enough for a newborn to eat three meals a day, it's not enough for me to read God's word once in a day, and then forget about it. I need to continually be reminded of His words, His truth. Some days I might need to read a verse every hour or two, to keep my mind focused on God – to keep my heart filled with truth. Just as a newborn infant needs to eat every hour or two, to keep its tiny stomach filled.