As newborn babies, desire the sincere milk of the word
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby(1 Peter 2:2, KJV)
What an instruction for us from Apostle Peter! He uses the anatomy of a newborn to teach us how to relate to the Word of God. When a newborn baby is hungry, he or she will bring the house down if they do not get their food! Their desire to eat is so strong, and they do something about it immediately! The Lord says your desire for the Word should be like that of a newborn child.
I want you to pay attention to the exact words Peter uses here. He says you should desire or crave for. He did not say read the scriptures, study the Word, meditate on it or even go to a Bible school. There is nothing wrong with these things but that was not his point. He was concerned about our desire or the craving in our hearts for the Word.
He instructs us to desire or set our desires on the Word. It means we can direct our desires to something. Peter was addressing the heart, not our outward activities. It is possible to read the Bible or study it without a fervent desire in your heart for the Word. God wants your passion for the Word to burn, which will ultimately cause you to study, read and meditate on it.
Paul speaking to the Colossians said “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2, KJV). You can set your affections or minds on things above. The Word is “things above”. You can set your desire on it. You can yearn and desire to know the Word of God. This is called spiritual hunger and it should consume you! Jesus tells us why spiritual hunger and thirst are so critical in spiritual things: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6, KJV). Did you catch that? Those who are hungry and thirsty get filled, by God! That is, the fullness is reserved for the hungry! This is what this means in very simple language: if you desire and crave to know God in your heart, God will reveal Himself to you.
As newborn babies, desire the sincere milk of the Word!
MEDITATE
Can you set your desires on God and His Word from what has been discussed above? Do you desire spiritual things?
APPLY THE WORD
Spiritual desire for God follows a kind of feedback cycle. If you desire God, that desire grows. If you do not desire God, even the little desire that is in your heart dies with time. That means the more you move away from God or feeding on the Word, the more your heart becomes callous and very soon, you realize you have become hardened and do not want God anymore. This is a terrible place to avoid at all cost. On the contrary, if you start feeding the little spiritual hunger for God, it will have a positive feedback effect to multiply itself and increase your hunger for Him! Feed your hunger for the Word and let that hunger consume everything inside of you to know the Son of the Living God. Refuse to be content with mere Church or routine Christian activities. Crave for the revelation of Christ in His Word!
PRAY
Ask the Spirit to help you fan to flame your desire for the Word and to feed it to grow.
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