Training Diet and Exercise

Training Diet and Exercise

Hebrews 5:11-14 – “¹¹We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. ¹²In 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! ¹³Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

Unless we are able to enter the Holy of Holies on our accord, every time we consume scripture we should feel at least the a pinprick of conviction, both that the Word is true and that we are falling short. I was pinched by verse eleven.

I am slow to learn and always have been, especially where academics are concerned. I read slowly and methodically but with high comprehension. This flummoxed certain teachers during my school years and they assumed I wasn’t learning because I wasn’t learning at their pace. There are times when I set aside texts meant to teach because I’m inching along and would like to race. The Bible is tough for me to be consistent in. It takes time for me to work through the verbiage and so my discipline here is weak.

I put up a self-deprecating post on FB a few minutes ago and was rewarded by the following comment from my best-friend Jim:

“I am a steadfast believer that it is the responsibility of the teacher to teach the student in the manner and delivery in which the student can best receive the instruction. This is to the teacher's ultimate advantage, in that the teacher then is afforded the opportunities from his or her students to learn (woo-hoo!) an endless number of manners and deliveries. Count it all joy.”

I do count it all joy. The most fulfilling times of my Christian walk have been when I’ve taught – scriptures, building, cooking, the fundamentals of basketball – all teaching leads to learning for both teacher and student.

In all areas of our life we need to progress from a diet of mother’s milk to protein rich foods. We do this by the process of maturation in both the physical and spiritual realms. The lamb in the field goes from taking mother’s milk to eating grasses. Our puppies are weaned and go onto puppy food and a progression of foods that dazzle most dog owners. Walk down the pet food aisle of any store and you’ll see a progression of foods designed for every stage of a dog’s life. Go into Petco and be overwhelmed at aisle after aisle of foods for every size, age, and dietary need for your dog.

While we consider this and what it means to us in our personal spiritual state we cannot escape verse fourteen, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

Our maturity as Christians is a training issue. We must have a training regimen that includes a specific diet if we are to excel. The best training regimens have a regular interval and opportunities to adapt as our conditioning improves. Distance runners carbo-load before a big race. Basketball players ease into maintenance mode in the weight room as the season nears and govern their diets according to the schedule of games. We pace the intake of scripture with our need to teach, worship, and pray.

We need to attach ourselves to a teacher/trainer that will encourage us, set up our personal regimen, and kick our butts when we need it. The Holy Spirit is just such a teacher. It is up to us to come to the table, it is up to the Holy Spirit to teach us, convict us, goad us, and confirm us.

We also need a place to exercise our maturity. To do that we need to identify our call and pursue it while teaching and feeding the spiritually young.

Find your level, work toward a pace, and come to the table to eat. Then ‘count it all joy’ as you lift a heavier burden or watch a student exceed your own skills.

In His grip,

jerry

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