The Set-Up
Reading is my first love. I was joking with my mom the other day about how when I was little, I would read everything – if it had words on it, I would read it. My summers were spent reading book after book so I could earn a prize from my local library as part of their summer reading program. But one day, the unthinkable happened: I found a book I couldn’t read.
The book? Les Misérables.
I can’t remember my exact age, but I was definitely in elementary school when this happened. I was so confident in my reading abilities that I wanted to find the biggest book in my library and read it.
I made it about five pages and gave up. Sure, I could read most of the words, but I didn’t have enough understanding to comprehend the context or what was actually going on in the book. I just wasn’t ready to read something at that level.
Just like I needed to learn and grow more before I could read Les Misérables, the Apostle Paul taught the Corinthians that they needed to grow more before he could give them harder concepts. He had taught them in a simple way because they weren’t ready to take in more. They just weren’t spiritually there yet.
In today’s passage, Paul tells the believers in Corinth that he wanted to teach them differently, but he couldn’t. He basically tells them that he couldn’t talk to them as mature Christians because they weren’t. They were infant Christians and metaphorically needed milk because they couldn’t handle solid food.
I think the frustrating part for Paul was that these believers should have been past the “milk stage.” It had been around 3-5 years since he helped establish the church in Corinth, but the Christians there will still immature believers. They were too focused on the things of the world to be focused on God. In fact, in this passage, the Corinthians were too busy arguing about which teacher was the best one to notice that it was really God who was behind everything.
Growing spiritually isn’t an option. God expects us to grow and become more like Christ. It’s time to put down our bottles and get to work.
Passage to Read
Reflection Questions
One of the best ways to grow spiritually is to confess your sins. Is there a sin in your life you’re ignoring or something in your life you’re not wanting to change?
To grow spiritually, we also have to be more focused on God than the things around us. What is something that often draws your attention away from God?
Engaging with Scripture is a great way to learn about God, but spiritual growth is more than just knowledge - it’s learning how to apply it to your life, too. What is one thing you can do today to focus more on God than the world around you?
Prayer Idea
Thank God that He has given us everything we need to grow through His Word. Ask Him for guidance and help in revealing any areas of your life that need to be changed in order to grow spiritually. Ask Him for the desire to not just read the Bible, but to let it transform you.