Dear friends,

Our granddaughter, Claire, will be one year old in early February. We are able to see her about once a month and the changes are very noticeable. We spent from Christmas to New Year’s Eve with family in western Pennsylvania, mostly with Claire.

She is growing. She now has two bottom teeth and one top tooth. Megan discovered this as she heard Claire making a grinding noise with her mouth. The top one had just broken through! She is experiencing a change in her diet. The puréed baby food is now being supplemented with small pieces of solid food. She likes string cheese in small bits, but not stringy.

The big change in her life is she is starting to take steps. She is transitioning from a helpless baby into a toddler who is able to do things for herself as she plays with her toys. She is becoming less dependent on others and seeks her own independence – mostly by crawling up and down the stairs. It is a joy to watch her and you wonder what goes through her mind.

Another big change in her life is switching from formula to regular milk. Her diet is undergoing a major overhaul. She is going to grow physically no matter what she is fed, but certain foods will help her physical growth.

This makes me think about our spiritual growth as humans. We should grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ and we should grow in our Christian life of discipleship in areas of prayer, Bible Study, worship, fellowship and service. Our growth should take us from the milk of being a young Christian to the solid food of being a mature Christian. This doesn’t always happen. Paul wrote: Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. ?2? I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 1
The writer to the Hebrews similarly wrote: 11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. ?12? 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! ?13? Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ?14? But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. 2

The goal of discipleship is to learn in order to teach others. Where are you spiritually – sitting there with a pacifier in your mouth waiting to be feed or cooking up a gourmet meal for a thousand people? Probably somewhere in between. The point is to keep growing. I pray that God receives as much joy watching your spiritual growth as I receive watching Claire’s physical growth. So, grow in grace and enjoy the solid food of a mature faith.

Love in Christ, David

1The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1984 (1 Corinthians 3:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 2The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1984 (Hebrews 5:11). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.