Devotion for Wednesday, May 20, 2020
1 Peter 2:2, “…long for the pure milk of the word…”
God calls His people to wait upon His word with expectancy and hope. The Psalmist declares, “I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope.” (Psalm 130:5) This desire for God’s leading in our lives brings us to a great passage in 1 Peter that once again connects God’s Word with sustenance.
Peter calls the recipients of his first letter to live in obedience according to the “living and enduring word of God.” (1:23) This call is based upon the fact that the Word of God endures forever – as he quotes Isaiah 40:8.
Since God’s Word endures forever, we are instructed to cast aside all aspects of worldly living (2:1) and yearn for the pure milk of God’s Word. Peter uses the analogy of the baby’s need for pure milk from the mother. Whereas Paul uses this analogy in a negative connotation, chiding the Corinthians that he must continue to feed them milk as babes in Christ and not the meat of God’s deeper truths reserved for those mature in the Lord (1 Cor. 3:2), Peter points to the supremely positive notion of pure milk.
In order for a baby to grow in the critical first year of life, that child must have the mother’s milk or formula packed full of all the nutrients vital for proper development. Likewise, the only way a babe in Christ is to grow is through the nutrient dense Word from God Himself. The word for PURE in this passage can also mean “unadulterated” or “undefiled”.
We live in a world that is filled of “truths” diluted by lack of understanding, bias, political slant, spin, and outright deception. The lost clamor for ultimate truths only to find once promising pathways turn into dead ends.
God’s Word, however, is the fount of true salvation, fulfillment, satisfaction, and the truth that we all crave. Through Scripture, we GROW UP in salvation – daily (1 Peter 2:2b). How do you maintain the joy of your salvation amid the bad news and false truths that surround you? Long for the pure milk of the Word. When you do, you will “taste the kindness of the Lord.” (1 Peter 2:3) Of course, Peter here is quoting Psalm 34:8.
God’s Word is to be your pantry that provides all the sustaining power you need to navigate this world of death and despair. As you grow up in the pure milk of God’s Word, you will begin to be able to intake richer and more succulent solid foods of God’s deeper mysteries. You will reject the philosophies and empty deceptions according to the elementary principles of the world in favor of the “fullness of Deity” that dwells within the person of Jesus Christ (Col. 2:8-9).
This is the great mystery of the gospel – Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) God wants to captivate, awe-inspire, and fill you up with the grandeur of this great mystery. When we feast on the Word of God, the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
-Joshua Moore
Pastor, Sharon First Baptist Church