A New Diet For The New Year!

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2: 1-3, NIV.

Merciful Heavenly Parent, we realize that our old diet has not helped us in any way. We are underdeveloped in our spiritual life. Please give us a desire to feed on Your Word, and please help us to grow. This is our prayer in the blessed name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

A new year is a time for new resolutions; at least many people believe this. One of the areas where people usually resolve to make changes, is in their diet. When I read this text, I immediately thought of someone who, had suddenly become aware that the food in their pantry was unhealthy, and had begun to throw it out. As they read the labels and contents it suddenly dawned on them that there was “death in the pot” (2 Kings 4: 40, KJV).

In a spiritual context, there are times when a Christian may come to the conclusion that they are eating “the pods that the swine ate” (Luke 15: 16a). This is one of those “aha” moments when we come to our senses (Luke 15: 17, NIV), as the Holy Spirit convicts us of the need for a change in our lives.

The good thing about the way the Spirit deals with us, is that He not only shows us what is wrong; He helps us to fix it! Hallelujah! He is a problem solver, for He is God! Therefore, for the New Year, He offers us a new diet, that of newborn babies – spiritual milk.

It is interesting that the apostle Paul used the term “newborn babies” instead of little children. I believe he had a special reason for doing that. Have you noticed how swiftly a child grows in the first year of life? On the website AboutKidsHealth, I found the following statement which I consider quite accurate:  “A useful rule of thumb is that most healthy, full-term newborn babies double their birth weight by four months and triple it by their first birthday.”

That should not come as a surprise if we stop to think of how often they are fed during the day and, in many cases, the night. Now it is easier to understand why Peter used the verb crave, which implies urgency, intensity. It is not just a want, but a need. We are so fearfully, and wonderfully, made, that under normal circumstances, our body has the ability to show us what we need, by inducing a crave for certain foods. In the spiritual realm, the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead that points out our need and also enables us to receive what we need. Praise God!

If there is an area of growth that every Christian should crave, it is in regards to our salvation. Thank God, we are not left to figure out for ourselves how this growth can be acquired. God in His infinite love and mercy has left us the formula:  “rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk[.]” There you have it! 

Now watch yourself grow up into a spiritual man or woman, in Christ Jesus. This formula was inspired by God, mixed by holy men, and has been doing its work with proven, extraordinary, results! There is no need for you or me to be underdeveloped Christians. We can accept God’s new diet for the New Year, and grow!