Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. (1 Peter 2:2)
As a child develops, we celebrate the cute things she’s able to do. From learning to say her first words, or learning to walk by holding on to furniture of the wall. Then she will learn to ride he bicycle without her parents’ assistance. She’ll even learn to swim! It is amazing and delightful to see her grow from a baby on to a toddler. Friends and family will say, “She’s growing so lovely and so fast!” 1 Peter 2:2 alludes to a similar growth of a person who is growing strong in Christ. However, the desire to grow stronger in Christ must come from us daily. In this text, the Apostle Peter writes to the Jewish believers to pay attention to their growth – which would assist their character and conduct. They were new to the Christian faith, new followers of Jesus, hence he called them newborn babes. His call or admonition was to desire the sincere milk of the Word. Babies drink milk for a period of time to develop and grow strong bones and body. The popular “Got Milk?” advertisement still appeals to our senses and may still cause us to desire a glass after watching the ad. However, Peter encourages us to make consuming the Word of God our number one priority. The desire is similar to the baby going after the milk; the desire to partake of the milk which provides the vital nutrients needed for strong development. The Word (logos) and the word (rhema) are part of the character of the milk on which these newly born babes live. Here, God is like a mother providing milk for her suckling babies. Physically when we desire food, we are moved by hunger and with delight, we are attracted to whatever we decide to eat. This should be the same in our spiritual lives. Where we are moved by a hunger to grow and mature in Christ, this hunger can only be filled with the Word of God, which has the power to also overcome areas where we were weak and wayward. The previous verse (1 Peter 2:1) challenges us to put aside malice, guile, envy, and evil speech; such negative traits should not linger within our new life in Christ. Therefore, as we desire the milk of God’s Word, we will be transformed in mind and spirit to follow the ways of our Savior. Even small portions of God’s Word can go a long way in growing strong. We can’t afford to stay at the same place spiritually. Stagnation and lack of development in a child causes great concern for the average parent; similarly, it should cause us great concern when we fail to grow. There is also a purpose behind this challenge of our maturity, as implied in Ephesians 4:14, where we see that when we become mature we know truth and how to stand firm in Jesus Christ. May our main goal be to grow stronger in and with Jesus. May our desire to memorize Scripture and spend time basking in His presence grant us a joyful and successful Christian walk, not to be neglected but prioritized. How can you be intentional in measuring your growth over the rest of 2023? Dear brothers and sisters, we have entered the fourth month of 2023. The importance of this month certainly lies in Good Friday and Easter, and in commemorating our Lord Jesus Christ "the only begotten Son of God... suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, was buried, descended into Hades, was raised from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.”
During this holy season I would like us to meditate on a passage from Matthew 26. It happened a few days before the crucifixion of the Jesus. He was in the house of Simon the leper in Bethany (26:6), and Simon prepared a feast for him there (cf. John 12:2). During the meal, Mary of Bethany poured an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume on Jesus' head. How valuable is this jar of perfume? First of all, both Mark and John clearly recorded its price, which was worth thirty taels of silver. At that time, this was the wage of an adult man working for a year, and therefore its preciousness is without doubt. However, this price alone is not enough to measure the value of this perfume. In addition to being expensive, this perfume was a symbol of women's chastity, as a dowry for future marriage. Therefore, considering that most of the followers of the Lord Jesus came from the lower levels of society as well as the emphasis on chastity in the Jewish law, the value of this bottle of ointment to Mary is even more precious. Yet Mary poured it all out and anointed Jesus without reservation. Noted that both of Matthew and Mark’s account of this touching story are connected with another event related to "thirty taels of silver." That is, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to the chief priests for the same "thirty pieces of silver" (Matthew 26:15), that is, thirty taels of silver. It seems that the value of Jesus to both Mary and Judas was thirty taels of silver. But the truth is that the value of Jesus in their hearts is so different that we can even say it’s completely opposite. Jesus is the supreme treasure to Mary, so she is willing to give everything for Jesus; on the other hand, Jesus is worthless to Judas, so thirty taels of silver is considered a treasure to Judas. Dear brothers and sisters, the extent of our love, obedience and devotion to Jesus depends on how much Jesus is worth to us. Yet the worth of Jesus itself is not determined by us, but by what He is (His being) and what He does (His doing.) As the Bible says: " 16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17). Dear brothers and sisters, in April 2023, in commemoration of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, let us ponder this question again: How much is Jesus Christ worth to me? |
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