‘Cravings’

Daily Devotionals March 15, 2021

“So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.” (1 Peter 2:1-3)

How often do we associate having a ‘craving’ with being a Christian? Not usually. But maybe we should. Think about it this way…we often speak of ‘wanting’ or ‘desiring’ more of God, but the image that come to my mind is of a woman patiently waiting in prayer with a Bible open on her lap. The image Peter paints is far different! In a baby’s craving for milk we find nothing of my tranquil picture at rest. Rather we are faced with a red-faced infant who demands to be fed—a hungry newborn knows nothing of patience. It is with that kind of urgency that Peter tells us to ‘crave’ spiritual nourishment.

As followers of Christ, we are to get rid of our appetite for all things that do not line up with our new life with Jesus—including juicy little morsels of deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy and unkind speech. No longer are we to dine or even snack on such habits, attitudes and considerations. We are to be ‘new’ with a newborn’s craving for milk so that we can ‘grow into a full experience of salvation.’ Unfortunately, a quick survey of our Christian family betrays an anemic salvation. We have experienced God’s kindness in being saved, but we remain placid in our faith. This placidity isn’t simply evident in our resistance to share what we know, but in our refusal to grow beyond our comfort zone.
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If we refuse to give up the tasty morsels of what the world tells us will bring happiness and success, we will never develop a taste for growth-producing spiritual nourishment. A baby who is fed with sugar-water, may lose his/her appetite for milk; children often prefer ‘junk’ food over healthy. The same is true of us spiritually. Our taste buds need to be shifted, we need to crave the good things of God and not be satisfied with the occasional spoonful here and there. We need to develop a taste for God’s goodness. Once we have, we will never be satisfied with anything less!
~ Pastor Jane