"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." -Hebrews 5:11-14
I've been thinking a lot lately about our spiritual transition from the milk of faith to the meat of theological truth. Paul, Peter, and the writer of Hebrews all speak about this development that happens within the life of the Christian and the life of the church, this movement from the basic understandings of our beliefs to the complex issues that take some chewing and some struggling to deal with. And I've seen this development within myself as I look back on my life and at some of the conversations with others that I have had.
I remember the time that I told my mom that anyone who believed in evolution was stupid and obviously didn't believe in God. I remember one time in a Bible study condemning an entire group at my high school as being "sinners" for not holding the same beliefs I did. I remember I flatly stated my stance on an issue while in a small group and instead of everyone agreeing with me (as I expected), one of my mentors, after giving me a very pointed look, changed the subject and moved on.
I remember thinking that everything was so clear-cut, black and white, true and false.
I don't think that I was a bad person then. I tried to love my neighbor and always do the right thing. I tried to be friendly with everyone, and I tried to be a good messenger of the Gospel to everyone I met.
But wow. I was very narrow-minded. It was like I was a racehorse with blinders around my eyes.
As I've grown older, I've begun the transition from theological milk to solid food. I know that I still have a ways to go before I am done with the transition, but I feel like I've made some good steps in the right direction. And with this transition, I've come to realize that not everything is so easily divided into clear-cut categories. Sometimes there isn't a simple right and wrong choice. Sometimes good and bad are not effortlessly distinguishable.
Sometimes holiness and sin are not black and white.
Jesus talks in the Sermon on the Mount about how even thinking about a woman lustfully is committing the sin of adultery. Harboring anger for your brother or sister is as atrocious as taking his or her life. Is there really a distinction between sins, then, if this is the case? Can I condemn my homosexual friend a sinner if I am still holding bitter thoughts toward an old pastor of mine?
Paul says in Romans and Ephesians (and pretty much everywhere else) that we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works or deeds. But isn't having faith in something an act? Doesn't belief count as a deed?
Jesus spent the majority of his ministry surrounded by sinners of all kinds--tax collectors, demon-possessed, lepers, prostitutes, the homeless, men and women who were deemed all sorts of unclean. Why is it, then, that we as the church tend to spend more time white-washing our walls than we do out with those in need of the Physician? Are we too holy for Jesus?
If we preach Christ crucified and risen being the saving work for all humankind, why are we so quick to condemn? Does even our act of faith set us apart from them? Is God's love limited by our freedom? How do we hold in tension God's mercy and God's justice?
I don't know the answers to all of these questions, and there are many, many more that I have been and will wrestle with throughout my life. All I know is that the answer is not as easy to find as I once thought it was. As I've been in this growth spurt, going from milk to solid food, God has allowed me to see glimpses of the vastness and complexity of His love and His grace. I've been better able to understand why it is that we call our interaction with God a "holy mystery."
I know I still have a long way to go before I complete this transition, but I am thankful for the ways in which my eyes and heart and mind have already been opened to the wonderful work of God in the world.
Just as our metabolisms have to mature before they are able to handle complex cuisine, our faith has to mature before we are able to handle complex truths and issues. When we have grown enough in our faith and maturity, we are better able to wrap our minds and our hearts around the issues that are fuzzy around the edges and better able to digest the tough truths of life. If we try to tackle them too early on in our walks, there's a good chance we'll make a mess of things as all the issues come back up the wrong way.
So may we all actively engage this faith development process. May we be encouraged by the fact that holy truths are not always clear-cut and black and white. May we find solace that our God loves us and calls us even when we do not have all the answers or even any of the answers. And may we celebrate a God who will walk through this transition with us, challenging, stretching, and loving on us all the way.
This has totally been my journey this past school year! I went off to school, sure of my beliefs, sure everything was black and white, and sure my beliefs were correct. And it wasn't easy to accept, but I've come to see that faith is not always so clear. It's not easy to know the right answer, and who I am to judge absolutes when I'm not even close to perfect?
ReplyDeleteAnd it's something we usually have to realize on our own, but it's oh so important for our growth.
I preached a sermon concerning these sorts of things, but I think it was on some different verses. My thought is: We don't ever transition totally away from milk. I have to continue to drink milk now for the health of my bones and I think its the same way with spiritual milk. I'm glad to get some variety in my diet as well and have to chew on some other things, but milk is always an important part of the diet. I think the vastness of God's grace and mercy and the complexity of the love shown to us is milk that sustains us even when we move on to solid food. Just a few thoughts...take them for what you will.
ReplyDeleteI think that the milk is very important for us still, but I think that our understanding of what is spiritual milk changes. We still need to be told of the love that Christ has for us. We still need to be reminded of the sacrifice of the cross and the grace and salvation present in it. But the black-and-white aspect of so much of faith cannot stand anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe writer of Hebrews here is making an analogy that the basic understanding of the Jewish faith is the milk for the Jewish Christians of that time. The spiritual meat is the inbreaking of Christ and the Holy Spirit into the picture and everything that does for their understanding of the world and of God. Whereas the milk is still important, for it led their eyes being able to be opened, it can no longer sustain by itself.
I think that the same thing is true for us. Like the protagonist from Plato's Allegory of the Cave, we can no longer be content with the worldview and understanding of faith that is granted to us from shadows and echoes. Once our eyes are opened, once we start that transition to the light, to the meat, to the complexity of life and belief, there is no going back. It is not and will never be enough for us anymore.
Just a few thoughts back at ya :)
I've had a very similar experience to you. Faith for me too has gone from clear, black and white, to less clear and more gray. As I think it should. It is similar to the way we grow up in life. Children don't start out thinking abstractly...they learn right and wrong very clearly. They are taught things very black and white and that works because they understand things that way. As children grow into teens and young adults and into older adults their understandings of things change. For this reason, I would share a children's message one way with kids and teach the same lesson differently with teens. This is an interesting verse and great thoughts. I enjoyed your post, once again. :)
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