“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ” 1 Corinthians 3:1-3
It’s been a month since my last post, due to a corrupted website. When that message flashed across my screen my heart sank. I am not fond of corruption. Neither do I know how to deal with corruption in the sense of technological things. Nor did I have time or space to approach it during the Easter season. So I gave it a rest and reasoned that if it could be resurrected after the celebration of Christ’s resurrection I would resume. And here I am, the remedy worked and I am no longer corrupted, in the technological sense!
During the corruption enforced shut down, I had the privilege of helping to lead a women’s retreat. The theme of the retreat was “Back to the Basics” and early on John 3:16, the Apostle’s Creed and old Sunday School songs took center stage. The weather was perfect, fellowship amazing and camp food and snacks kept us all going. By Saturday afternoon, post hiking, kayaking and strenuous card games, it was time for me to lead my session on spiritual growth, “From Milk to Meat”.
With 1 Corinthians 3: 1 in mind, I strolled to the refrigerator and told all the ladies that I had a special drink for them. When I pulled out the bottles and bag of breastmilk I had borrowed from my 6 month-old granddaughter, a groan came from the crowd. They refused to drink it, can you imagine?!
“Breastmilk is the perfect food/drink,” I told them. “My granddaughter has been drinking nothing but this milk for six months and she is growing and doing well. Why don’t you want to drink it?”
The very wise answer they gave me was that they were not babies. From there, we began a discussion about spiritual growth. I asked every woman in the room to ponder how old they were spiritually; how many years had it been since they asked Jesus to forgive them of their sin, cleanse them and be their Savior?
Your spiritual age is an important thing to contemplate periodically. You my be 60 years-old in real time on this earth, but only 5 years-old in faith. Take a minute and calculate your spiritual age. Do you remember the day? the year? the season?
I then asked the ladies to think through their spiritual lifestyle and register it as if they were in school. Did they feel like a spiritual baby? toddler? early elementary student? PhD student or professor? In the time you have walked with God, have you grown up? or are you still demanding things and crying when you don’t get your way?
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul takes the Corinthians to task for not growing up, for continuing to require the food of babies instead of maturing as an adult. He clearly states that jealousy and strife are marks of immaturity; of people who think of themselves before others. Ouch! That describes me, at times. When will I get over my selfishness, petty jealousies and little hurts? When will I grow up into the image of Jesus? I am quite a bit older than a teenager in spiritual years, why do I act so immature?
Moving on to Hebrews 5:13-14 we discussed lifestyles that help us practice and train; “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Keep in mind it is not a rigid life of rules that matures us spiritually, but a constant returning to God, a renewing of your mind through reading and learning the word of God, a prayerful relationship involving constant and close communication with the one who loves us so much He died for us. The basics are what ground us, choosing to dig into the meat of God’s word is what grows us.
My twelve year-old granddaughter visited me today. I listened to her practice her piano lessons and smiled. She has improved greatly over the last few years. Her scales and chords were spot on and the songs she can play are vastly different than when she began. She has practiced, and is growing as a pianist. In the same way, we all need to practice leaning on and into God. We need to leave our childish ways behind us, relying on God’s word and love to transform us into the image of Jesus.
What will spiritual growth look like in your life? It will be different for everyone, but for starters there should be less and less jealousy and strife! There should be more care and concern for others than for ‘me’! There should be a realization that all things can work together for good for those who are in Christ Jesus. That translates to less panic and fear, more faith and peace.
I hope you will calculate your spiritual age, ponder your spiritual growth and spend more time in God’s word so that you may discern good from evil.
At the close of my session, a good friend of mine had baked and decorated a “hamburger cake” so I could take the group from milk to meat. I do not have her recipe, but I will get it! I don’t intend to ever decorate a cake that elaborately! Thank you my friend.
The cake was filled with a fruit preserve, so in honor of the cake, I am sharing a recipe for Raspberry Jam. This is the jam I used to fill the Danish Tarts I had shared a few weeks back. It is an easy recipe and a lovely jam, with tartness to offset the sugar.
Raspberry Freezer Jam
- 1 Certo pouch
- 4 cups red raspberries
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 4 cups sugar
- freezer containers to hold 5-6 cups of jam
This post is really to encourage you to attempt to make your own raspberry jam more than it is to give a special recipe. The recipe is written quite clearly on the instructions inside the box of Certo, premium liquid fruit pectin. It comes as a two pouch pack.
Of key importance is following the instructions carefully. You need to measure precisely, which can be tricky for someone like myself who often eyeballs quantities. For the jam to set properly, you need to use all the sugar called for and the right proportion of fruit. Fresh fruit works best, but if you are using store bought, allow the fruit to sit at room temperature for several hours before mashing. Once you have mashed the berries, measure them to be sure you have 2 cups of mashed fruit.
If you truly hate raspberry seeds, you may strain the mashed berries before adding the sugar. This will require you to mash more fruit so that you have the 2 cups of mashed berries required for the recipe. I usually don’t strain the fruit.
Wash and dry your berries thoroughly. Place them in a large mixing bowl and mash into a puree. Raspberries mash easily. Add the sugar and stir well. Allow to sit for ten minutes, stirring periodically. In a small bowl, combine pectin and lemon juice. The instruction pamphlet calls for fresh lemon juice. I have used fresh and concentrate and do not notice a difference. Stir these together, then pour over the sugar/berry mixture. Stir in until sugar is completely dissolved; at least three minutes. Pour or ladle jam into prepared containers.* Wipe away any drips along the edges with a paper towel; snap plastic lid securely in place. Allow jam to sit on the counter for 24 hours, then freeze or use.
*Prepare containers by washing them thoroughly, then placing them in boiling water. Dry completely before filling with jam. Fill to within 1/2″ of the lid.