Food...comfort... and protection. Those are the three significant offerings a mother provides to her newborn, especially in those very early days after birth. You could even make the case those benefits are at work prior to birth while still in the womb. As I mentioned previously, if you have ever witnessed the birth of a new calf, lamb, goat, deer, etc., those new babies tend to stay close on the heels of their mother, especially in those early days. They just instinctively know that is where their source of food, comfort and protection are to be found.

Continuing on in our lesson comparing natural birth to spiritual birth, we find once again, striking similarities in scripture that offer us helpful insight as to how we too, can grow so that Christ might be ‘formed in us’ as well. (Gal. 4:19; Rom. 8:29). And you might be surprised how it all points back to the importance and the necessity of ‘abiding in Christ’.

Take 1 Pet. 2:2 for example, where he writes: “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby...” I think we all know that if a baby does not eat, a baby will not grow and it’s only a matter of time before the baby dies. But what are we to be feeding on? The ‘word of God’. Jesus introduced this theme back in John 6 where He admonishes us to ‘labor not for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life’. (27). He expands this lesson on food talking about the ‘true bread from heaven that gives life to the world’. (32-33) He then tells them outright that HE is...’the living bread of life’. (48-51). Now look at vs. 51 closely again because Jesus then links this ‘bread’ to being His ‘flesh’. This is when He started to lose a lot of them.

The Jews in attendance were indignant, even asking...”How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” (52). Jesus doubles down telling them ‘most assuredly’...that “unless they eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (53). He declares that “His flesh is food indeed...” (55) and that “he who feeds on Him will live”.(57-58). It was at this point when ‘many of His disciples’ were struggling to understand what He was talking about and ‘many’ would eventually turn and ‘walk with Him no more’. (60-67) (Remember what I said yesterday how ‘conception is no guarantee that a new life will be produced’?)

But look at vs. 63 where Jesus tells them how His words are ‘spirit’ and they are ‘life’. He acknowledges that some of them may be ‘offended’ by this (61) but He does not let up. Unless we are willing to ‘eat His flesh’ (along with ‘drinking His blood’ which speaks to covenant) we can have no part of Him. So what does it mean to ‘eat His flesh’? Would you please turn to John 1:1 and then vs. 14.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. Now don’t be like Nicodemus and try to look at this through ‘natural eyes’; (John 3:4)...let God open the spiritual eyes of your understanding. Is it possible that when we ‘eat of His flesh’...we are eating, or taking in...His word; as in we are ‘taking it to heart’...not only being a ‘hearer of the word, but a ‘doer’ of His word as well. Anything short of that leads us in to deception. (James 1:22).

Now, real quick...go back to John 6:56 and see if you caught what Jesus tells us what those who are indeed ‘eating His flesh’ (the word) are doing- they “abide in Me, and I in them”

You can memorize the word, quote the word, you can even teach the word, but  if you are not ‘doing’ the word, you are not abiding in Him. And that would explain why you are not only failing to grow in maturity (little if any good fruit), but you are also not walking in His peace and comfort ... nor are you protected from the ‘wicked one’. More on this tomorrow, Lord willing.