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.
Hebrews 5:11-14 NIV
We have much to say about this (obedience), but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 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. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Caleb, may I have a hug and kiss? No! Caleb is your diaper wet? No! Caleb, it’s time to take a nap. No! Caleb, eat your vegetables. No! Caleb, that’s Bryce’s toy. Mine! Caleb, please don’t bang on the laptop. Mine!
Whether you are raising a boy or a girl, more than likely you have (or had) a toddler who discovered that they had choices. Unfortunately for them, they lack verbal and emotional skills to express their desires causing them to ‘lash out’ in obnoxious temper tantrums and unbearable mood swings. Regardless of the child’s ability to communicate, most parents will not tolerate temper tantrums and/or mood swings. Children are expected to be obedient to the parent’s rules. Most parents enforce compliancy with the hope that their child will be respectful and slowly adapt to expectations. However, most toddlers challenge their parents and struggle making sense of why they are unable to ‘play in dirt, before family pictures’. The child is still learning that the parent has its best interest ‘at heart’. The parent makes decisions based on life lessons. The parent sees the ‘bigger picture’ for their child and, whether the motive is selfish, desires the child to have a wonderful, pain-free life. The parent adores the child and believes that no one possibly can love it more than he/she. Yet the ‘two year old’ is unable to comprehend the loving boundaries. With the combination of parental consistency and child maturity, the child’s behavior will eventually stabilize. The matured child will decide whether it will or will not follow the rules of their parent.
God loves you, the same. He adores you, has your ‘best interest at heart’, makes decisions based out of love, and believes that no one can love you more. Unlike a parent/toddler relationship, God understands it all. He simply desires you to communicate with Him. In your attempts to communicate with Him, He is not going to ‘put you in time out’ or ‘point to every thing, other than what you are talking about’. He understands. He promises to comfort, take away burdens, and relate to you (John 14:15-17). The relationship begins with you. He wants you to spend time with Him (James 4:8). If we choose, we may forever remain spiritual toddlers and consistently fall in elementary areas which He desires us to conquer. ‘Throwing fits’, ‘pointing fingers’, ‘name calling’, speaking negative about our current situation, and repeating the same mistakes are not God’s plan.
In our western society, it is unacceptable for a 10 year old to act like a 2 year old. As Christians, the expectations for believers should be similar. We are to grow with God and conduct ourselves always in a Christ like manner (1 John 2:6). Remembering that our response to Him should always be, ‘Yes!’ because He knows what is best. Also, if He asks of us we should give because it and we belong to Him. We can choose to reject our Heavenly Father and His plan. He will not force Himself upon you, but desires for you to choose His blessing (Deuteronomy 30:19). Just as a parent disciplines their child with hopes, the Lord’s spiritual laws guide us. You cannot reject God’s plan of salvation or any other principle and experience His total blessing. You may be blessed in certain areas, but the peace of God will never be with you (Philippians 4:7). It’s start with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you reject, you will forever remain in your ‘Terrible 2s’, saying ‘No, No, No’ and ‘Mine, Mine, Mine’ and never realizing your Father’s bigger picture for your life. You must decide!
If you desire to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please click the link below.
www.cbn.com/spirituallife/BibleStudyandTheology/Discipleship/Steps_to_peace_with_God.aspx
