Growing Christians Need a Growing Diet
Jesus doesn't just increase your chances for a better, longer life. Jesus is your life. Hebrews 5:11-6:3 shows us how Growing Christians Need a Growing Diet. Taste and see. August 23, 2009.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Board, a 5-year-old child needs 25 mg of vitamin C per day, an 18-year-old needs three times that amount, and a 30-year-old mother nursing her baby needs almost five times that amount. A 13-year-old needs ten times the amount of Vitamin B6 that a 6-month-old baby needs, and a 70-year-old needs seventeen times the amount. As we grow, our need for the required amount of vitamins and nutrients grows. If you don’t receive the required amounts of nutrients from a growing diet, health can suffer.
According to the Bible, a 3-year-old child needs to learn the ABC basics about Jesus (like little Sydney a 2 ½-year-old I met this week whose parents are joining Grace, when I asked Sydney to tell me about Jesus her eyes opened wide and she announced, “Jesus died!”). A 12-year-old should be familiar with such teachings as baptism, faith, good works, resurrection, and eternal life (like the 11 and 12-year-old daughters of the parents who came to me this week with questions about Grace youth confirmation class). An adult Christian ought to be mature enough in the faith to apply his or her righteous standing in Jesus to the toughest trouble and distinguish good from evil in the stickiest situation (knowing where to find Bible books like Hebrews or Habakkuk isn’t an unreasonable expectation either). If a growing Christian ignores the need to keep growing in faith and understanding, spiritual health can suffer. Growing Christians Need a Growing Diet. Today God promises there is plenty of spiritual nutrition for all ages, and easy-to-understand guidelines for a healthy, growing faith.
In the middle of a bombastic sermon about Jesus as the source of salvation and his role as high priest, the writer to the Hebrews stops abruptly and admits, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.” “Much to say” means volume – a considerable amount of information; it also means value – a considerable benefit for those who understand. It’s all there, but there’s a problem. And the problem isn’t with the data, and it isn’t with the teacher delivering the data. The problem is with the students. They’re sleeping. “Slow to learn,” the author laments with a word used elsewhere to describe a sick and sluggish lion. So much potential, but it stops there. “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.” Those reading this original letter in the early Christian church had received enough training in God’s Word to make them able to teach others, but instead they needed to be taught themselves. And worse yet, they needed to be taught, again, the same things they were taught before but they didn’t retain. You might say they flunked Christianity 101.
What would you say if you dropped your car at the dealer for work because you received a recall notice, and the service manager said, “I’m sorry, none of our mechanics knows how to adjust those new brakes”? How would you feel if your dentist pried open your mouth, grabbed the big silver drill, and awkwardly positioned it near your face while commenting to his assistant, “This should be interesting, I haven’t used one of these in 15 years”? Hundreds of people are leaving Yahoo! e-mail for the preferred gmail server that filters spam a lot better because it updates the filter continuously. We expect not just capability, but improving, upgraded, developing capability – and rightly so. But we often don’t expect it enough of ourselves, especially when it comes to growing spiritually.
You “ought to be” the Bible says, stating that growing spiritually is not an option. It’s an obligation. Not growing spiritually like we should is a sin against God. And then, you “need someone to teach you” the Bible says, describing a personnel problem we’ve created by requiring some Christian to teach us, using their energy and effort on us, instead of allowing them to teach someone else; and, of course, if we’re being taught then we aren’t teaching others ourselves. Not growing spiritually like we should is a sin against others. And, of course, not growing as we should hurts our own spiritual health. “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.” Am I right with God? Am I right in my behavior? Am I right with my beliefs? Am I saying the right prayers? Am I making the right decisions? The less acquainted we are with the teaching about the right-ness of Christ that is ours by faith, the more worried, fearful, and hopeless we become in life. We become paralyzed, just like Elijah.
After his victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel Elijah expected nothing less than a spiritual revolution, but instead he was threatened by Queen Jezebel. Rather than responding with faith Elijah retreated like a little boy pulling the covers over his head, scared of the bogeyman, and threw himself a pity party. Have you encountered trouble in your life that called for a mature response and you acted like a baby? I have. God should have thundered from the heavens, “Elijah, grow up! Daron, grow up!” and then slammed the door and walked away from us, but instead he baked bread.
Years ago the U.S. Department of Agriculture put together the familiar “food pyramid” to give us a picture of healthy diet. The base of that pyramid, the stuff of which we should have the most, consisted of grains such as cereal, rice, pasta, and bread. Although the horizontal groups of the pyramid have been updated with a new pyramid that shows the groups as vertical (all of them touching the top as important food groups) the grain group remains the most prominent. Grain is the staple of a healthy diet. Jesus is the Bread of life, the key ingredient to spiritual health. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, that person will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). All of our recommended daily minimum requirements for being a healthy, growing Christian are found in Jesus. Jesus took on flesh and became like us, lived like us, was tempted like us, became our example for obedience, and ultimately gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus feeds our faith with the forgiveness of sins so that when we hunger for relief from guilt we are filled with him like the waters of our baptism filled the font. Jesus nourishes our souls with his eternal righteousness so that nothing can ever separate us from God, not even death, and we will live eternally in heaven. Jesus was Elijah’s bread and Israel’s manna. Jesus was the burning joy of the Emmaus disciples and the loving fellowship of the early Christians. We take Jesus in Holy Communion and eat him. We feast on his Word and on every spiritual blessing. And we mature spiritually from baby’s milk and kiddie menus to solid food and a full, adult menu arrayed with all kinds of options and opportunities for healthy, spiritual growth.
Parents try to strike a balance in feeding their children. Childish taste buds don’t always appreciate broccoli or fish but will happily consume macaroni n’ cheese and Oreos. Okay, so the discerning parent might give a youngster a plate of macaroni n’ cheese and add a small helping of broccoli … and no Oreos until both are gone. That’s helping a child grow, and that’s what Jesus does for us. Pastor Rob Bell, producer of the Nooma videos we use as Bible discussion starters in the coffee shop once a month, made a comment about growth and grace in a recent video that has stuck with me. He said, “Jesus loves you enough to accept you as you are – but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.” That’s grace for growing Christians – knowing and believing who you are in Jesus, but more than that, knowing and believing whom you can become in Jesus. What has Jesus done in your life to help you grow? Given you Christian parents who taught you how to pray and paid for your Christian education? Connected you with Christian friends? Certainly. But he also lets you encounter hardships like Elijah, and puts you in circumstances that can be scary like the disciples. Any trouble is not a punishment but a place to grow. Any opportunity is not a dead end but a new beginning. “Let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to spiritual maturity,” the Bible encourages. Don’t be satisfied with the status quo. Jesus isn’t. Grow spiritually. How?
“Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Develop healthy habits for growing spiritually. Get into God’s Word more often and explore new ways to study and read that work for you (try our Summer Bible Reading at Grace, or join a group for e-mail Bible discussion, or memorize new portions of Scripture). Network with old and new Christian friends who help you and hold you accountable and pray for you and offer unbiased advice (like our Grace Groups, but that is just one of many circles of friends to enjoy, who can help you grow). Discover newfound joys in worship whether it’s the text of a new hymn in church or loading your iPod with Christ-centered, Christian music – both classic and contemporary). Read more books or blogs about Christian life or church history or Lutheran doctrine. Listen to a religious podcast series. Meditate. On the new food pyramid you’ll see a stack of steps on the left side, with a stick person climbing them. The message of the USDA is no longer just about what you put into your body, but what your body puts out in activity and exercise. Be active in your Christian growth.
In the introduction to its Dietary Guidelines, the USDA says, “Eating right and being physically active aren’t just a ‘diet’ or a ‘program’ – they are keys to a healthy lifestyle. With healthful habits, you may reduce your risk of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and certain cancers, and increase your chances for a longer life.” In the Bible Jesus says, “The one who comes to me will never go hungry” (John 6:35). Jesus doesn’t just increase your chances for a better, longer life. Jesus is your life. Taste and see. Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on August 23, 2009
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