But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:14
We all have certain things that we have to do for ourselves. Things that no one can do for us. Things that make us feel weak and dependent if we can’t do them for ourselves. And while the list isn’t all that long, eating is one of them. As a matter of fact, it has to be near the top.
Milk was put into our mouth as infants, but we still had to suckle and swallow. As we got a little older, we’d grab food with our tiny fists and jam it into our mouths. Eventually, we learned to use a spoon and fork to lift food up to our mouth. And sometimes, we’d actually get some of it into our mouth.
As a young kid, I remember a very special day. It was one of those days that were a fork-in-the-road of life. You know what I mean. Before this day, I was just another person. A nobody. But after this day, I was somebody. I had arrived. It was a day that shouted for all the world to see and hear that I was a new and different person. That I had graduated from the schoolyard of life and was now ready to take on the world.
That day was the day that I no longer needed to have my spaghetti cut up. Why? Because I had learned to twirl it. I put just a little bit on the fork and twirled it with he help of a soup spoon. It was how my grandmom from Italy did it. It’s how my mom did it. It’s how my older brother did it. I had graduated and was now part of that exclusive club of spaghetti twirlers.
Maybe you know someone who’s so sick that someone had to cut their food up. Maybe they needed help putting it on a utensil. Maybe they couldn’t even bring food to their mouth. If you’ve been this sick, you know how it makes you feel so helpless. So totally dependent and weak.
The writer is reminding the Hebrews and us that solid food and maturity come with a cost. You don’t just order yourself up a serving of maturity. There’s no app to download. There’s not even a three-point message that’s going to lead you to be able to handle solid food. There’s no download button that we hit to get to maturity. It just doesn’t happen that way.
Maturity in this life only comes through these four steps.
Constant use. We can’t start down the road of maturity and then just quit. Oh no. Maturity is a road that we have to keep walking down each and every day. We never outgrow it. We never come to the place that we’ve got all the maturity there is and we need no more.
Trained. Maturity comes through training. Period. There’s no other way to get there from here. Maturity doesn’t just happen. We need instruction. We need someone to show us the ropes. And we need someone to point out when we’re doing it wrong.
Themselves. We have to do it ourselves. No one can get maturity and then pass it along to us. We have to do all the work and heavy lifting to learn and achieve maturity. And to get maturity for ourselves, this means that we’re going to have to give up other things to make time for learning maturity.
Distinguish. The whole point of maturity is to be able to look at things and to choose the right thing. The good thing. The godly thing. Maturity comes when we can recognize things and people for what they are.
Maturity says that different things and people can look good on the outside. They might have a nice, new coat of paint. They might look all bright and clean. But what’s really going on below the surface? What’s going on inside their head and hearts? Are they trying to help or are they in it just to get something?
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.
Matthew 7:15,16a
Jesus commands us to be constantly and actively watching for false prophets. This means that we can’t let our guard down for a second. We need to carefully think about the things we read and watch. We need to evaluate what we listen to.
We have to be on the lookout because the enemy is coming after us. You can bet your bottom dollar that our spiritual opponents are looking for ways to get inside and weaken us. They’re constantly testing our defenses like the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park. They’re always on the prowl, looking for weaknesses. “They remember[1].”
Because Jesus came and gave his life for us, we must respond. He fought the enemy, and so should we[2]. This is the battleground of our modern age. There’s no hiding from it. It’s something we all face. Are we just going to lay down and give up without a fight? Today is the day to start taking every thought to Christ and make it obedient to him[3]. There’s no reason to delay. Now is the time. Today is the day.
Noodling Questions.
List three things that no one can do for you.
How can we set ourselves up for success when it comes to maturity?
What battlegrounds has God given to you to fight for him?
[2] Matthew 4:1-11
[3] 2 Corinthians 10:5
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