Let's Continue to Grow

I caught an episode of 18 Kids and Counting yesterday and something stuck out to me that I've been thinking about today. Here's what I got:

Mr. and Mrs. Dugger (dad and mom to 18 biological kids) were traveling from their home in Arkansas to New York City to appear on The View. They took two older daughters and the new baby with them while the rest of the crew stayed home with Grandma. The at home crew got to get the t.v.s out of the closet and set them up with the rabbit ears to watch mom and dad on The View. (Honestly, I become more attached to the idea of life without t.v. everyday. It's just so hard to say goodbye)

As the kids are gathered around the t.v. a commercial comes on that has women dressed immodestly. One of the sisters (around 10 yrs old) immediately raises her hand to the t.v. and covers the screen. When asked why she did this, she says she does it because it is wrong to dress like that and to help her brothers not look. You can tell that all she understands is that it is not good for her brothers to look at girls dressed like that or for girls to dress like that. Right now, she obeys without complete understanding.

I'm so very glad she does. But some day, hopefully, she will fully understand why it is important to dress modestly and to help her brothers (biologically and in Christ) not be tempted to lust or dishonor one of God's creatures. If she never grows into that fuller understanding she will miss out on knowing God more.

But there are also times when we do things because it is what we were taught and we never move into that place of greater understanding, and in that we end up doing things unnecessary or incorrect. I'm thinking of the story of the new bride cooking her first roast. As she cuts off the ends of the roast before putting it in the pan her husband asks her why she does that. She replies, "Because that's how my mother does it."

Curious, now as to why her mother does it, she calls mom and asks. Mom's reply is, "Because that's how my mother did it."

Now, they are both curious so they call Grandma and ask her. Grandma responds, "Because my pan was never big enough for the whole roast."

Mom and daughter had continued cutting the ends of the roast off and missing out on perfectly good meat simply because they did it the way it had been done before them without ever moving into that fuller understanding of why it was done that way.

This was me for many years when it came to my relationship with Christ. I did what I was told to do in some cases and what it appeared most everyone was doing in others. But I can gladly say that I'm trying to continue growing into the fuller understanding God desires for us. He doesn't want us to drink milk our whole lives. He wants us to feast on His meat too.

Some of the things I was taught or copied are good things that I'm understanding more and more. And some of the things are unnecessary and need to be released. I'm letting go.

Let's continue to grow.
Bridget

You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. And a person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life and doesn't know much about doing what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, and who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right. So let us stop going over the basics of Christianity again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Hebrews 5:12 - 6:1