Friday: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 1 Corinthians 8:1b (NIV) “There will never be enough knowledge to fill the cracks of Christian maturity without the fruit of selfless service manifested in our lives.” Brandon Hatmaker Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NLT) Reflection: Full. Filled. Satisfied. Content. We all long to feel fed. In fact, one of the most common reasons for Christians to feel dissatisfied with a church is to believe that it is not “feeding” them. When we feel unfed we have a longing to be filled. We crave satisfaction. But whose responsibility is feeding? And who needs to be fed? When we are babies our parents have to do everything for us. They clothe us, bathe us, change our diapers when we make a mess and they feed us when we’re hungry. But eventually the day comes when human beings need to begin caring for themselves. What would people think of you if they discovered you still lived with your parents and they still dressed you, bathed you, cleaned up your messes and fed you when you were hungry? Doesn’t it make sense that eventually we need to pick up a fork and learn to feed ourselves? We are bothered by the sensation of emptiness – empty lives, empty spirits, empty bellies. As infants we were satisfied with milk, but as we grow we find that we need more to sustain our increasing energy needs. We want food. Babies will reach for it on a parent’s plate long before they have the skills to actually chew and digest it. We long for solid spiritual food – something that fills us. We want something to really sink our teeth into. Unfortunately, most modern Christians equate the “meat” of spiritual teaching with more knowledge. The problem is that knowledge can never satisfy spiritual hunger. We can only feel full from love. In fact that’s such an important statement I’m going to say it again. We can only feel full from love. Love builds us up, fills our emptiness and quenches our thirst. Knowledge (without love) just puffs us up. We feel bloated or inflated but still not content. The reality is that we are most filled with God’s love when we are serving others. We feel the most fed when we feed His sheep. Jesus fed people. It wasn’t just a metaphor. He literally fed them. He passed around the food till everyone had their fill and there were baskets left over. We can fill ourselves with as much knowledge about Jesus as we can and never feel satisfied. Our thirst is quenched as we live what He lived - when we serve. That’s how we will come to truly know Jesus and feel a sense of belonging to Him. It is in acts of service – love demonstrated – that we find the blessings of Christian maturity and ingest the nutrients that make us grow. Prayer: Father, forgive me for not doing anything with what I already know. I don’t want to be a baby anymore. I want to grow up and start doing something with the knowledge that I already possess. Open my eyes to the reality that I am fed as I feed others. In Jesus Name, amen.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 12:00:00 +0000
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