Craving the Best

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Scripture:

1Pet. 2:1  ¶ Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.
1Pet. 2:2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—
1Pet. 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Observation:

The spiritual journey of life should take us through a cleansing and transformation.  We should intentionally ask God to help us with our spiritual growth, shedding bad attitudes and behaviors and becoming more and more like him.  We may begin the journey as infants who need to be nursed along but eventually we should grow to the place where we crave more, and that is the pure spiritual milk provided by the Lord.  The more we taste what the Lord provides for us the more we crave him.  Our desire is to want more and more of him, the very best for our lives.

Application:

It’s summertime and it’s hot!  What’s the best thing on a hot summer day but great ice-cream.  You can find it everywhere from the McFlurry at McDonald’s to Coldstone Creamery and Foo’s Famous Custard near the Seminary here in Kansas City.  It is all amazingly good and on these hot summer days it seems like a pleasant thing to consume.  Honestly, there are days I’d simply like to have ice cream (with Reese’s peanut butter cups, of course) as the only thing that I eat. 

How hungry are we to know God?  How much time have we spent with the Lord until we know what it’s like to crave him?  This is God’s plan for humanity.  God’s spiritual food is so fulfilling and satisfying that we will constantly desire more, for what he has to offer us is the very best.  Sadly, too much of Christianity never gets to figure this out.  They’re still eating plain vanilla grocery store ice cream because they’ve never ventured forth in their spiritual lives.  All of the beauty of the depths of the flavors of a sweet relationship with the Lord lie before us and yet, somehow we never go for the taste test.  Notice the words if the author, “if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” There is an action required on our behalf to know how good he is!

I’m afraid that too many of us are living anemic spiritual lives and missing out on all that is available to us.  We must venture forth spiritually, spending time with the Lord, reading his word and in prayer and worship and simply experiencing how good he is.  The more that we are with him the more that we will crave him.  The Lord is good and wants to help us grow in our salvation.  There is more — probably more than we can even imagine available for us spiritually.  If the world can create great ice cream that we crave, just imagine how much more wonderful God is and what he can provide for us.  Let’s begin the taste test and we will discover that we crave more and more of the Lord in our lives.

Prayer:

Lord, may you satisfy my cravings today.  Amen.

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