Eat Up...

I spoke with a good friend of mine last night, and while I won’t give the details of our conversation, my ending comment was:  “Thank goodness we can feed ourselves!”

When our children were just babies, Russ and I taught them how to eat on their own.  It was a messy endeavor, to say the least. (The only food that would make it into their little mouths with absolute certainty was the Cheerio that had been hidden just under the edge of the fridge for two weeks.)  At times, food was everywhere – on the floor, on the high-chair, in their hair, on their clothes, on our clothes – and very little of it seemed to actually get into their little mouths.  Knowing the importance of this skill, we persevered in our teaching.  Working past their own frustrations, their aim improving, they eventually learned to feed themselves.  What joy and freedom! 

The spiritual parallel is so clear to me.  We have to learn to eat on our own!  Jesus said man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  Just like my body needs physical food, my spirit needs spiritual food.  As Russ would say, we need to learn how to “eat the Book”.  He is referring to taking in God’s Word, of course, much like we take in food. Once my children learned how to feed themselves, they no longer depended on me to meet that particular need.   The same can be true for us, spiritually.  When we learn how to read, study, and apply God’s Word for ourselves, we no longer have to depend on others to do it for us.  We don’t depend on pastors, teachers, friends, or mentors to spoon-feed us spiritually.  This is not to say that God doesn’t use others to help us grow; He does.  But the primary way we will grow spiritually is to feed ourselves straight from the Word!   Our children continue to grow physically because, when they are hungry, they have the skill to satisfy that hunger.  (The little girl in the picture can now make a PB&J all by herself.)  How embarrassing, not to mention counter-productive, it would be for all of us if Mom or Dad were still spoon-feeding them at ages 12, 9, and 6! 

One final thought:  What gave me the ability to teach my children how to feed themselves?  Simple – my parents taught me.  I continued to hone those skills so that, when the time came, I could teach my own children.