Morning By Morning #293

…mere infants in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:1

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

Are you grieved, dear believer, because you are weak in your spiritual life, because your faith is so small and your love so feeble? Cheer up, for you have reasons for gratitude! Remember, in some ways you are equal to the strongest and most mature Christian. The same “precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19) has redeemed you and you are as much an adopted child of God as any other believer. An infant is as much a child of his parents as is a full-grown man. You are as completely justified as any other believer, for justification is not measured by degrees. You are fully justified, for your faith has made you totally clean.

You also have as much right to the precious things of the covenant as the most advanced believer, for your right to covenant mercies does not depend on your level of growth, but upon the covenant itself. Nor is your faith in Jesus the measure, because your faith is actually the evidence of your inheritance in Him. You are as rich as the richest believer in actual possession, if not enjoyment. Even the smallest shining star is set in heaven and its faintest ray of light is akin to our sun, the greatest globe and source of light in our sky.

In the family registry in glory, “the small and the great” (Job 3:19) are written with the same pen, and you are as dear to your Father’s heart as the greatest in the family. Jesus is very tender and loving toward you, for you are like the “smoldering wick” to Him. A less tender person would say, “Put out that ‘smoldering wick.’ It is filling the room with an offensive odor!” But “a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isa. 42:3). And you are like “a bruised reed” to Jesus. A less gentle hand than that of the Chief Musician would simply throw you away or pluck you from the ground and trample you underfoot. But “a bruised reed he will not break” (Isa. 42:3).

Thus, instead of being down or depressed because of what I am, I should “triumph in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:14 KJV). Am I only somewhat in spiritual Israel? No, I am “seated…with him in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 2:6). Am I poor in faith? Nevertheless, in Him I am “heir of all things” (Heb. 1:2). Although I may be “worthless and less than nothing” (Isa. 40:17), I can boast in Him. Yet if the determination is left to me, “I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Hab. 3:18).

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

It is true we all begin the Christian walk as “mere infants in Christ” and that being a new believer is nothing for which to be ashamed. However, we should never be content to stay a spiritual infant. It is in this regard that the writer of Hebrews shares some frustration with the recipients of his letter by saying:

You are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 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. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.

Hebrews 5:11 – 6:1