The Nature Of A Spiritual Infant

A baby is completely dependent upon the care and provider of the parents. A baby cries for various reasons, and the parents have to decipher what the baby wants. A baby hungers and thirsts, so the parents feed their baby with milk. So, we can agree that a baby naturally needs someone in order to survive.

The analogy of a baby is a good transition to the topic that I want to speak about. A Christian is described in various images in Scripture: a sheep, a member of the body of Christ, a part of the temple of God, a bride of Christ, a salt, a light, an infant and so forth.

A Christian is an infant. Thankfully, God knows fully well what a Christian needs. Peter said, "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." (1 Peter 2:2-3)

Christians are newborn infants because they have been spiritually born-again by the Holy Spirit (John 3). As newborn infants, Christians are no longer "by nature children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3); Christians are a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). Because Christians are born-again, because Christians are infants, because Christians are new creation, Christians ought to naturally desire milk - spiritual food - Scripture or the Bible. 

It is the nature of Christians to be dependent on God. It is the nature of Christians to progressively know God. It is the nature of Christians to progressively desire to know God. It is the nature of Christians to progressively and naturally hunger and thirst for God. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew 5:6) The Beatitudes are the characters that describe what a Christian looks like. Any Christians who are self-reliant and independent would lead him/her to spiritual despair, amnesia and vulnerability.  

Singing hymns are generally my preferable style of worship. Not all hymns, however, equally have good theology. In "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah", I invite you to read these two lines:

Bread Of Heaven, Bread Of Heaven 

Feed Me Till I Want No More

In context of this hymn, when the Israelite was in the wilderness, they need manna or food. Manna were breads that fell from heaven. Physical nourishment is important, and there is a suggested theological implication that physical fulfillment is temporal. 

After doing much research on this hymn, this lyric was probably not the original, but was probably edited. Regardless of what the original was, "feed me till I want no more" does not sound correct. It is implying or suggesting that spiritual nourishment is temporary rather than an ongoing desire for that nourishment. 

Think about it, a baby naturally needs physical nourishment. For Christians, they naturally (or supernaturally) also need spiritual nourishment from the Word of God. Without the knowledge and practice of the Word of God, Christians cannot spiritually grow into maturity (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 

Meditate on this response from a "Christian": "Thank you God for the Bible. I finished reading it and I want it (or God) no more." 

A proper response would be this: "Thank you God for feeding me with your Word, and I desire more." And off you go to your other activities as you look forward to your next devotion because you want more of God's Word and Himself. 

As I was saying about the lyric, there was a change. Whether if you have been a Christian for a long time or if you've recently became a Christian, I hope that we would always have the attitude of being an infant that longs for God and be close with Him. So here's the alternate lyric:

Bread Of Heaven, Bread Of Heaven 

Feed Me Now And Evermore

Renewing Our Desire To Know God's Word

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Introduction
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I want to follow up with another entry from my last post, "Are Christians Done With The Bible?"

The statistics given by the Canadian Bible Engagement Study are astonishing, showing that most Canadian Christians never read the Bible. So, the natural question that follows is: not reading the Bible, does it make a Christian less spiritually mature? Am I adding more rules by insisting on the importance of reading the Bible - being legalistic - over this issue? 

I am certainly not being legalistic over this issue, but rather, it is a pastoral concern for God's people. The Bible speaks about growing spiritually through knowing God's Word (1 Peter 1:23-2:3). Indeed, Christians do need to read the Bible in order to grow into a deep maturity in our walk with God - of course, we need to integrate other ways of growing spiritually as well, such as prayer, fellowship, and evangelism. By not reading and understanding the Bible and, thus not maturing in our faith in God, we will head into wrong directions, we can suffer grave consequences, and we will have a hard time discerning what is good and evil (Hebrews 5:11-6:2). When a false teacher comes to teach at your church, are you ready to discern if he/she is faithfully preaching God's Word? As Christians, it is vitally important that we are rooted in God's Word.
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Reasons and Responses
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Tommy, what you said is true and I know I need to read the Bible, but I __________. (fill in the blank)

I have personally heard many reasons (excuses) from Christians for not reading the Bible, and I believe Satan is indeed crafty enough to put some of these deceptive thoughts into the mind of the Christians. There are legitimate reasons for not reading the Bible - if you are blind, or if you suffer from a mental disorder...  if you completely have no access to the Bible in a language that you understand. We pray and hope that somehow God's Word would reach them. But let's say you are not blind and do not have any mental disorder or diseases or whatsoever, you technically do not have many excuses to make. In Canada, we have Bibles everywhere - in church, bookstores, in our apps. We have the greatest privilege to hold God's Word at the palm of our hands! Many persecuted Christians in third world countries LONG to hold the Bible and own one, but we Canadians have taken it for granted. 

Reason #1: I am too tired and busy.
As Jesus said in the Garden of Gesthename, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." However, Jesus also said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) Does this sound promising? That Jesus would give rest for our souls when we learn from Him? If you are feeling tired and busy, Jesus invites you to come to Him. 

Reason #2: I need to feel like reading the Bible first.
When an enemy attacks you during war, will you say, "Oh, I need to feel like picking up my sword/gun first before I go and fight?" You would be dead by then. Our spiritual enemies, Satan and his demons, are constantly attacking us. They will not wait for us to feel like fighting back. Remember, this is a spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18). We have the need to equip ourselves with the armor of God as opposed to us needing to FEEL like equipping ourselves with the armor of God - this is especially true for the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Reason #3: I can hear the Spirit speak to me so I don't really need the Bible.
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1) How do you know if what you hear is the Holy Spirit? You need to test the Spirit. How do you test the Spirit? We need to compare what we hear to God's Word. The Bible holds the highest authority over against whatever we may hear or sense in our thoughts. That's not to say God doesn't speak to us anymore, but if we do hear a voice, and think that it is from God, we need to be spiritually discerning.

Reason #4: I can't understand the Bible.
There are parts in the Bible that are not easy to understand. Peter acknowledges that some of Paul's teachings "are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures." (2 Peter 3:16) However, if you are a Christian filled with the Holy Spirit, you have the spiritual capacity to understand the things of God (Psalm 119:18), as opposed to those who are not Christians. (1 Corinthians 2:14-16) The Holy Spirit illuminates truth to His people, and we need to pray and ask God for help in understanding His Word (2 Timothy 2:7). This is a call for humility.

UPDATE: You can always get a good study Bible that provides commentaries. I highly recommend the ESV Study Bible. 
 
Reason #5: The Bible is just too boring.
John Piper said, "The Bible can NEVER be boring...Avatar is boring!" If that's your attitude towards the Bible, then you need to go back to the basics, which is understanding the Gospel, because this is the issue at heart. When you understand the Gospel, and how the entire Bible points toward Jesus, my prayer and hope is that you will have a profound and renewed desire to know His Word. "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103)
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Conclusion
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Okay Tommy, no more excuses for me! I'm going to read the Bible right now!

Before we do that, let's examine ourselves first. We need to confess our sins and repent of them, which means we need to have our minds renewed. We need to come and meditate on the beauty of salvation in Jesus Christ. Jesus asks us, "Do you love me?"

Do we love God? If we love God, then we would want to obey Him. How can we KNOW how to obey Him? God has given us His Word - the Bible - to know Him and to obey Him. We all need a renewed desire to know God's Word. In the entire meta-narrative of the Bible, God has given us the two greatest commandments: Love God and Love Others. God has also called His people to keep His Word because of His love and redemptive work in our lives; from the time of Exodus until now. 

I'm not saying we have to be perfect, but what I am saying is that we be intentional and committed to reading the Bible no matter where we are and what circumstances we are in.

Are Canadians Done With The Bible?

Canadian Bible Engagement Study (CBES) drew a conclusion that the "majority of Canadians, including those who identify themselves as Christians, read the Bible either seldom or never."

As of 2013, CBES conducted an extensive study and research on Canadians, including professing Christians, for "Bible Reading Frequency". I quote, "About one in seven Canadian Christians, or 14%, read the Bible at least once a week. The majority of Canadians, including those who identify themselves as Christians, read the Bible either seldom or never." But what does this mean? 4/5 Canadian Christians report that they read the Bible seldom or never...and here is the rest of the report for "Bible Reading Frequency" in Canada.

5% Read The Bible Daily.
4% Read The Bible A Few Times A Week.
2% Read The Bible Once A Week.
3% Read The Bible Once or Twice A Month.
7% Read The Bible A Few Times A Year.
25% Seldom Read The Bible. 
55% Never Read The Bible. 

As astonishing as this sounds, this is true. About 75% Canadians who profess to be Christians report that they seldom or never read the Bible. Whether the statistics are entirely accurate or not, accuracy is not the real issue. The real issue lies deep down at the core of our personhood - our heart. Do we really love God and what He has to say to us? 

If CBES were to conduct a research at your local church, where would you land in the statistics? This is not done for the purpose of guilt-tripping Christians, but this is epidemic (no hyperbole) and requires a call to reflect on our faith. (click HERE to read more)

Here's the big idea for this entry: MOST CANADIAN CHRISTIANS NEVER READ THE BIBLE.

Where do we go from there? How should I answer the question from the title? It is a call for me to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ. I need to pray for myself, my pastors, my leaders in Oakridge Baptist Church. I invite you to pray with me as well. 

We may not be perfect, but I pray that we would have the same attitude towards studying the Bible as the Psalmist in Psalm 119, where he shows a vigorous love and passion for God's Word - His inerrant word, His authoritative word, His inspired word, and His sufficient word.