Pure Milk of the Word | Then away with all maliceand deceit, away with all pretence and jealousy and recrimination of everykind! Like the new-born infants you are, you must crave for pure milk (spiritualmilk ...), so that you may thrive upon it to your souls’ health. Surelyyou have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2, 3, NEB. |
No picture intriguesme more than one showing an infant looking deeply into the eyes of itsmother, and with the same tenderness, the mother’s searching gaze at hernursing baby. Studies have shown stronger bonding between the breast-fedbaby and mother than the bottle-fed infant and mother.
Humanity has yet to improveon what God has made for the nourishment of human infants. Not only doesillness decrease a great deal through the baby receiving the mother’s immunitiesthrough her milk, but also studies have now shown that intelligence anddevelopment increase. Apparently the brain continues to develop in thebreast-fed baby because of chemicals found only in mother’s milk. Scientistshave discovered more than 90 elements in mother’s milk that change in strengthaccording to the developing child’s needs.
The mother benefits frombreast feeding as well as the child. Breast feeding mothers seldom hemorrhage,because of the presence of a chemical secreted during breast feeding. Thischemical causes the uterus to contract to its normal size and the now unusedcirculatory system to the uterus to close itself off. Yet another chemicalhas a calming or tranquilizing effect on the mothers. Breast feeding isconvenient for the mother in that she has no bottles to wash or formulato buy or prepare—thus the cost of breast feeding is extremely small.
Ellen White says, “The bestfood for the infant is the food that nature provides. Of this it shouldnot be needlessly deprived” (The Ministry of Healing, p. 383).
As I consider all the benefitsof the milk that God provided for a baby, I find my mind drawn to the phrase“pure milk of the word” in 1 Peter 2:2 (NASB). What a marvelous God wehave, to have provided so well for the needs of infants, whether they bebabies sucking at their mother’s breast, or spiritual infants, such asyou and I. The “pure milk” found in God’s Word is far superior to the mosteloquent human words. Why is it then that we drink so little of this spiritualnourishment?| Are you daily drinking deeply fromthe “pure milk of the word” for your soul’s health? Why substitute human-made“milk” when God’s “milk” is abundant and free? |
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