And yearn like newborn infants for pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation, if you have experienced the Lord’s kindness. (1 Peter 2:2-3)
Large black hooves and spindly legs emerged from the mama giraffe. Soon, a whole calf tumbled onto the savannah grass. Within thirty minutes the baby was up and walking, an apricot and blonde patchwork masterpiece.
Eagles fly at twelve weeks of age, baby elephants follow their herd when they are three days old, and dolphins communicate with clicks and squeals from birth. Comparatively, we humans have a long childhood. Some even suggest we are born too soon because of a mistake in evolution. We would have a higher survival rate, they say, if gestation were twenty-one months instead of nine. Try saying that to a pregnant mother.
There is no mistake here. It’s by design that we take longer to mature because God loves children. He delights in keeping us in the innocence of childhood for an extended season. We all need to grow up eventually, but maturity in Christ means a return to the childlike qualities God most treasures.
Advancement of the soul is the reverse of physical development. The older I get in Christ, the more dependent I should be in my faith. I am to return to the source of my life, suckle his nourishment, and hide in his protection. I must become less reliant on myself and the world and be more sustained by Jesus.
That kind of maturity is something that even my old heart can reach for.
Prayer: Father above, grow me into union with you.