Back to School

Back to School

By Touching Lives 

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2:2-3

Where I live, today is the first day of school. For the past several weeks, parents have been scurrying around searching for school supplies, buying new backpacks, shopping for new clothes and shoes, and attending meet-the-teacher open houses. Teachers have been preparing their classrooms and bus drivers have been practicing their routes. Commuters are up earlier, anticipating the return of heavier traffic and longer drives. Everywhere you look there are signs of the back-to-school season.

As I think about the students returning to those classrooms today, ready for a new year of education, I can’t help but wonder, “What if we put the same amount of effort into our spiritual growth as we do into our educational growth?” As parents, what if our kids’ knowledge and understanding of Christ was as important to us as their understanding and knowledge of math and science? How would this affect our lives, and more importantly, theirs? What if our own spiritual growth was more important to us than our careers and hobbies? Think about these questions in your own life.

In 1 Peter 2:2, we are encouraged to crave “pure spiritual milk.” This “milk” Peter is referring to is the Word of God. It is the truth according to Scripture. And why are we to crave it? So that we can “grow up” in our salvation. The day that we surrender our lives to Christ and trust Him for salvation should be the beginning of a lifelong journey of growth and discovery. Every day should be like the first day of school, where we show up with sharpened pencils in hand, eager to sit at the feet of our Savior and learn.

My favorite part of this passage in 1 Peter is verse three, which says, “…now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Our motivation to grow up in our salvation is the goodness of Christ. We have “tasted” His goodness through salvation, and that should motivate us to crave more of Him. In Christ, life is our classroom. There are no boring lectures or pointless assignments. There is no busy work or report cards. This is grace-based learning, where struggling carries no stigma and failing is a means of growth. Here we show up, not because we have to, but because we wantto.

Have you tasted the goodness of the Lord?