Tasting

Peter writes in 1Peter 2:2-3, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

Any parent is going to relate to this. We've all gone through the process of getting a three-year-old to try something new. "Taste it!" we urge. But if it has sauce, or is green, or looks different in any way, or even just sounds different (my grandson loves pork chops but refused pork roast), it can take a lot of coercion to get them to stick it in their mouths the first time.

Kids are that way because they have to decide to trust mom over their own lack of experience, and because they want to go for the sure thing, something they know is good because they've had it before. Moms are usually right because they know and love their children. The result: once the child tries it, they like it. Often they crave it.

That's what Peter is saying. "Now that you're given God a try and found out how good He is, crave that spiritual nourishment that you need to grow." As infant believers, we need milk, but even adults should drink milk along with the more complex foods they eat. What a shame if we were ever to lose our love for the basic goodness of God,

The word "crave" is an interesting choice here - it's an extreme word. People lost in the desert crave water. Addicts crave drugs. That word suggests an all-consuming need; nothing matters as much to a person with a craving as finding satisfaction for it. Is that how we are with God? It would be nice to think so, but sometimes there are so many choices on the buffet line that the attraction to God isn't that overwhelming.

Crave, Peter says, so that you can grow. Lay off the junk food and eat right.