Starting on solids: "kicking the bottle"

"Kicking the bottle". That's what parents call the process of weaning their babies of drinking milk alone and starting on solid (though still soft, tasteless and mushy) food. To the doting infantbearers it must seem like a major achievement. To me, well, they still have a long way to go before they can savour the un-replicable taste of a freshly fried plate of char koay teow, dazzling in its glorious oiliness and fattiness on a glistening banana leaf throne...

Anyway, I'm getting carried away (I'm hungry). But what made me think of this is the verse that I have pasted on my wall:

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
Hebrews 5:13-14

My understanding is that this spiritual milk refers to the basics of our beliefs in God: that He is our creator, Father; and He sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, and whoever believes in Him and repents of his sins will be saved. And to just know this truth, indeed, is enough for salvation. But is that all God wants of us? Is that all He put His people on earth for? To know the basics by heart but never bother to delve into the deep and complex mysteries of God?

I think that as we grow more aware of God, and hungry for Him, He seeks like a loving mother to bring us to the next level: solid food. But how many of us are really willing to kick the bottle, to stop just depending on our passed-down faith and confront the confusing, often contradictory realities that we encounter in our daily lives?

For me, I have a few friends who have been "Christian from birth", or as near to it, being raised in a Christian family, attending church services all their lives, gone to numerous Christian camps, even serving in Christian youth; to them, Christianity is a familiar theme in their lives. And yet, now that they have grown up and started to question their long-held beliefs, they find themselves having to go "back to the basics" in Christianity. They struggle so much even to accept that God is here, God cares, God loves and God wants all of them.

I just hope that this renewing of their faith takes place quickly so that they can come to the maturity that God desires for them. If you live on milk alone how can you fight in battle? Even the armies of man fight on full stomachs. You are saved, but you cannot be of much use against the enemy...

That's why the above verse means a great deal to me. I'm still learning what it means to "constantly train yourself to distinguish good from evil". It's something I can't do on my own, I need His wisdom to guide me. But first must come the willingness to be trained.

For me, this whole "venturing into the world with a little more bite" starts with:

1) My readings on the role of women in the New Testament. I have never identified with Paul the apostle that much, though he is definitely admirable and wise, because he seems to have such a low opinion of women. At least he comes across as such. And his words have been used to justify so many injustices in the church, to somehow imply that women are the "lesser creation". And yesterday, when I read that "women will be saved through childbearing..." (1 Timothy 2:15), I felt like..."What?" Then what about barren women, or women who didn't live long enough to have children, or those who dedicate their lives to God in singleness? The footnote said it could also refer to "The Childbearing", that is, the virgin Mary conceiving a child who is the Son of God. But somehow, still felt that it was unfair.

2) Transsexuals. (Am I spelling it correctly?) In the shower this morning, I was wondering how complex it was to bring them to Christ. Would they have to become a man again if they had already physically altered their bodies to become women? How would Christ have spoken to them? How can Christians love them unconditionally and at the same time not neglect their Christian duty, to tell them that what they hold most dearly to them, their long fought-for 'right' to be a woman, is an abomination to God? Apparently, many Christian groups actually have hate marches, and look down and even spit on these people....I think that is so sad and shameful. God created them just as much as He did you and I. Who are we to say that we are better than them?

So, these are a few questions that have flitted through the caves of my minds now and are probably settling there for a while, like bats, flapping their wings once in a while to remind me of their presence until I can finally find an answer that is satisfying to me and I can bring them out into the light.

God works in strange ways though! Just now as I was looking at Desiringgod.org, (thanks Raj:P) I saw a book that he and some others had written which was available online, "Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood". I've downloaded it and shall be going through it soon.

Looks like a lot of us are searching for solid food, and answers to our spiritual questions...and thank God, some may have found as good answers as we are going to get in this world already. "Seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you."