Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
In the second chapter of his letter to some New Testament churches, Peter continues his born-again theme. He says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2-3).
Then he changes his metaphor from growing up to constructing a building, saying “Like living stones you are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:4-5).
What do you make of these metaphors?
Are we to think our spiritual life is like an infant on a bottle ? Let me tell you a couple ways you are like a spiritual baby.
1. You’ve never outgrown the physical and emotional needs you were born with–the love of comfort, a desire to be served, a need for human touch and belonging.
2. You still gurgle when you’re happy and you cry and get angry when God seems distant and you feel sad or hungry or lonely.
Peter wants us to grow up in our salvation. He doesn’t criticize us like the author of Hebrews, who says, “What? Still drinking milk like a baby? By now, you should be eating meat like an adult” (Heb 5:12-13).
Instead of pushing us to move from milk to meat, Peter abandons the baby metaphor and tells us we are living stones being built into a spiritual house.
Living stones? Really? The dwarves in Lord of the Rings found living stones deep under the earth, but Peter finds them in the Christian community. In this metaphor, you don’t drink milk to grow. Instead, Christ builds his people into a spiritual house to become a royal priesthood.
Indeed. A mixed metaphor. I understand building stones into a house. But when the house is built it becomes a royal priesthood? Seems odd.
Yet somehow, Peter’s metaphors work. We can see ourselves as babies, drinking milk to grow. We can see ourselves as a construction site where God is building us into a house. And we can see ourselves as worldly people whom God is educating to be priests.
Let’s pray.
O father, sometimes we think we’ve made progress in the Christian life, and sometimes we know we are just babies who need another bottle.
Sometimes we think you’ve done a great job building us into temples of God, making us members of your royal priesthood. And other times we feel like a failed construction project–unfinished, incomplete.
Speak to us, Lord. Be present in our lives. Help us grow up. Help us become adult sons and daughters instead of infants. Build us to be your temple. Train us to be your priests.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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