Supper Time

Supper Time As I was reading this morning I got to thinking about when I was growing up and my dad's favorite late night snack. He would be sure to keep a keg of corn bread and a gallon of sweet milk at the house. (That's whole milk for those who are not from the south.) He even had a particular cup he would eat it out of. It was one of those metal cups that were popular in the 50's or 60's and the cold milk would make the whole cup have a thin cool layer of moister on the outside of the cup. Now my dad could eat this every chance he got but like I said it was his favorite late night snack. His favorite meal was a fresh cut ribeye steak about an inch thick cooked medium well over a charcoal fire, with a baked potatoe and green beans. He would go at least every two weeks and by the steaks on his way home when he wanted this meal and that night he would cook supper. I shared that because it came to my mind this morning as I was reading 1 Coritnhians 3:1-2; "1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly —mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready." Paul was making a simple statement of the truth, he desired that those in Corinth be mature Christians that would be able to live and survive off of the blessings and promises of God. The reality though was they were not growing spiritually and without someone to bottle feed them; their Christian walk would not continue. What they had begun to do was cling to those who were teaching them and not to the power of the Holy Spirit. It appears that maybe they were content with the milk and because it costs a little more to enjoy meat they where not willing to pay the price. I wonder if that is not the problem in our church today. We have wonderful preachers and teachers that we can listen to and learn from; but often we are not willing to go the extra distance and pay the price of personal bible study or taking time out for prayer. I won't even start on the need to fast when we really need to grow closer to God. Paul was a straight forward preacher and teacher of God's desire for his people. You see he did not have the Bible to read he only had what had been revealed to him through prayer and fasting and seeking after God. He spent three years alone in the deserts of Northern Africa seeking after Jesus after he was converted on the road from Damascus with no other teacher than Jesus and the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to him. It was almost ten years before he met the first apostles in Jerusalem and then he only spent 15 days with them. He understood the sacrifice it requires to grow closer to God. I have to ask you are you ready for more than a light snack before bed time? That is after all how most people spend time with God. We pick up our Bible at the end of a long day and give God maybe 10 minutes of our day reading just a few words of in the Bible and then we go off to sleep. Personally I think if we are to experience what God really has for us we need to start acting like its supper time and we have been given a six course meal with friends. You know what I mean when the waiters and waitress's are wondering if your ever going to leave. The check has been paid and everyone is full; just enjoying being in the presence of friends. That is what God desires from us. I pray you decide to enjoy a meal with Him today and that it helps you to grow as you walk in the light of His word.