Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. – Hebrews 5:13

Today's Scripture Reading (May 12, 2021): Hebrews 5

Comedian Lou Costello died of a heart attack on March 3, 1959, just a few days short of his fifty-third birthday. There is some disagreement about what his last words might have been. According to some, the final statement made by the comedian was, "That was the best ice-cream soda I ever tasted," a comment made about the strawberry ice cream soda that he had just finished. Others disagree, arguing that the words, along with the consumption of the soda, were actually spoken earlier in the day. I wasn't there, or even born yet, so I do not have an opinion one way or another. But either way, the strawberry ice cream soda was a good one.

I like ice cream. So does my Dad, so it might be a genetic condition. I could eat ice cream all the time, especially during the summer. There is nothing like an ice cream cone or a milk shake on a hot summer day to make the day seem right. I like ice cream. But I try not to eat it too often. I like it, but too much consumption isn't good for me. I need to eat other things if I want to be healthy.

I don't like salad, and yet I eat one almost every day. The reason is that I know that salads are good for me, better for me than ice cream. And as much as I might not like to admit it, I am an adult, which means that I get to consume things that I know are good for me even if I don't like them.

I have known children whose parents didn't want to fight with them over meals, and as a result, allowed their kids to eat whatever they wanted. But I wouldn't recommend that response. No one likes to have food arguments at the supper table, but a child will always choose what is easy and good. I know children who would love to live on an ice cream diet, but that kind of diet doesn't give the child's body the building blocks needed for growth and a healthy life. The child might not understand it, but children need adults to help them eat, ensuring they are getting the nutrients required for life.

Hebrews argues that there are Christians who are basically on a milk, or maybe an ice cream, diet. These are John 3:16 Christians. It has nothing to do with how long the Christians have been in the church, but instead, with what concepts they have been willing to feed their spirits. They know that they are loved by God, so much so that he sent his Son to die on the cross in their place. But they stay there. They live as children, never venturing on to other beliefs or actions. They understand "for God so loved the world …" (John 3:16), but they are not the ones who understand Jesus's command to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew28:19-20). They have not gone past love and "put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires" (Ephesians 4:22). They are living on spiritual ice cream, and as a result, are not mature believers. Hebrews instead begs us to partake of the salad of the gospel, which gives us what we need to go beyond childhood. Going and making disciples, or putting off the old self, are more challenging concepts than just knowing that God loves us. But they are also necessary actions that help us go beyond where we are, allowing us to become mature believers.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Hebrews 6