Thoughts for the Day

We have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

The letter to the Hebrews was thought to have been written St Paul originally, but there is now widespread disagreement over this. What we do know is that it was composed in the last half of the first century, and was written to Jewish-Christians coming under pressure to revert back to Judaism. The letter has some harsh things to say about those who fall away from the faith, and who do not keep growing spiritually. The writer also argues that those he writes to are still infants in the faith. As babies have to be given milk before they grow sufficiently to eat solid food, these Jewish-Christians have failed to grow and mature. They should by now be teaching others and taking the faith to others, but they have not progressed.

This Lent can we think about this last point seriously? Are we continuing to learn and grow in faith, or have we fallen away, or simply become stale? All of us should be maturing, and part of this is often a time of doubt or difficulty over some aspect of our faith. When we doubt we shouldn't panic, but pray for God's help, for He undoubtedly has something to teach us. At such time we should also rest in the fact that others will hold our belief for us, which is why we say "We believe" in our creed today.

Heavenly Father,
wen we stop growing in faith,
or learning about You
and Your plans for us,
or if we fall away from You,
help us to listen for Your call,
and to begin to grow again.
Then as mature Christians
may we turn our gaze outwards
to encourage others in their faith.
Amen.