July 8 - Meat and Potatoes

 Read today’s texts first: Hosea 13,14; Psalms 100, 102; Hebrews 5

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Bottle-fed Christians keep sinning
because they think and act like babies.

Whoever wrote Hebrews wasn’t afraid of offending his readers. Of course we know the Holy Spirit inspired the message, but I believe the actual choice of words and the style of writing reflects the personality of the human author. To me it sounds like Paul, because he wasn’t always warm and fuzzy, but who knows, Apollos, Luke, Barnabas, or Priscilla (all possible authors) may have been equally straight forward. The possibly offensive passage I’m referring to in today’s reading is this:

There is much we have to say about this matter, but it is hard to explain to you, because you are so slow to understand. There has been enough time for you to be teachers - yet you still need someone to teach you the first lessons of God's message. Instead of eating solid food, you still have to drink milk. Anyone who has to drink milk is still a child, without any experience in the matter of right and wrong. Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil (5:11-14).

My short paraphrase: “Grow up - you’re like 30 year olds still drinking milk from a bottle instead of fixing yourself some meat and potatoes” (or to accommodate the health conscious, some raw spinach and organic skinless chicken braised in coconut oil).

What follows, which fits the solid food analogy, is a teaching on the priestly role of Jesus. He appeared on earth after the order of Melchizedek. The short, TV dinner explanation is Jesus wasn’t really of Hebrew lineage. Yes, technically He fulfilled the promise that He would come “from” the tribe of Judah, but in reality, He was born of a virgin, from the very seed of God. Like the image of Melchizedek, Jesus was not from around here (7:3). This is important, solid food stuff because God Himself solved our sin problem, once and for all. Bottle-fed Christians keep sinning because they think and act like babies. The rebellious Israelites in Hosea’s day and the immature Jews among the readers of Hebrews needed to grow up and acknowledge God’s redemptive intervention.

“Lord, sometimes I need to hear this strong message too. I tend to make excuses for my sin and in doing so, fail to acknowledge the perfect work of my High Priest. It’s time to grow up, dig deep into Your Word, and to eat and act like a man of God!”