Here comes the plane…it’s getting closer…open up the hanger and let it in…
The sound of the plane engine was whining in the background as the plane got closer and closer. Nobody wanted a crash. This plane had to make it into the hanger safely. However, the success of this entire mission rested, of course, with the hanger manager – he had to open up the door to the hanger at just the right time.
The plane was a spoon full of food, the engine sound was a fairly decent replica created by myself, and the hanger was the mouth of the hanger manager – my infant son. Do you remember those days of spoon feeding your kids? Perhaps you are still there? Maybe you are spoon feeding your grandkids now?
Those were great days, but I am glad they are over. It was totally appropriate to spoon feed our kids when they were infants, but once they learned to feed themselves it became inappropriate to spoon feed them anymore.
Our oldest son is now living independently with 2 roommates on the other side of Canada. He is learning what is really involved in feeding himself. He lived at home while he got his university degree and my wife Anne ensured that he was well fed. Sure, he learned how to feed himself to a certain degree, but it’s a whole new ball game now.
He has to now plan his meals. He has to buy groceries in order to make those meals. He has to set aside the time in his schedule to do all of that as well as the time necessary to make those meals. It is proving to be a bit of an adjustment for him. However, this is all part of being an independent man.
He must now be proactive, not simply reactive.
Ok, a bit of a confession here: Anne and I got married right after university. I lived at home during university so my mom kept me well fed. Since we got married, Anne has done a wonderful job of nourishing me. I am learning to cook – encouraged by many of my more gastronomically gifted guy friends. However, Anne does the heavy lifting here. If I had to do it myself I am sure I would flounder greatly.
Regardless of your ability to cook and sustain yourself physically, every mature man needs to be able to nourish himself spiritually. We cannot be men and be spoon fed. Picture your wife sitting you down at the dinner table, putting a bib around your neck and spooning your food into your mouth. It’s ludicrous right?!
However, many men seem to take that attitude into their spiritual food. We want someone to spoon feed us truth so we don’t have to work so hard to extract the nourishment we need to grow. If we are going to grow into strong, mature men of God we must know how to feed ourselves on the Word of God.
We must know how to feed on the meat of deeper Truths and not sip on the milk of elementary Truths. Sure, we need the input of others, but we must be self-motivated to chew into the deeper transformational Truths of scripture.
We must be proactive, not simply reactive.
So how hungry are you to feed on the meat of scripture? How adept are you at feeding yourself? How can you feed those who look to you for leadership if you don’t know how to feed yourself? How proactive are you?
Like my son is learning in the physical, we must learn in the spiritual how to plan and execute an effective spiritual meal plan to ensure we are healthy and grow strong in faith. Book the time into your schedule to study scripture, to follow a devotional plan. Participate in small group Bible studies when you can. Bring your bible and a notebook to your church service and take notes. Go through your notes later on in the week. Train yourself in righteousness.
You will not grow strong in faith by being spoon fed – proactively chew into Truth.
Hebrews 5:12-14
“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.”
Isaiah 43:22
“Yet you have not called on me, Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel.”
1 Timothy 4:6-8
“If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”