Anyone with children can relate to Peter’s words. Leigh and I certainly can as we work on teaching Sydney the language of faith. She’s learning pretty well. She can recite her way through the Lord’s prayer, and knows “Jesus Loves Me.” I remember when she first tried to sing, “Amazing Grace,” she would sing, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a scratch like me…” We say a blessing before every dinner, and pray each night before going to bed. She wasn’t born a spiritual giant or theological genius, although I know with her pedigree she’ll become one. She’s still an infant in faith, learning the vocabulary and craving that spiritual milk. And with persistence on our part and curiosity on her part, through God’s grace her faith will continue to grow.
That’s how it is with all of us. We’re all at different places in our faith. I didn’t start attending church regularly until college. Even as a young adult I was a spiritual infant. Some of us are taking in a healthy diet of spiritual disciplines: prayer, meditation, scripture reading. Others of us are still infants, only able to digest the spiritual milk of God’s word we hear on Sunday. That’s wonderful; we all have to start someplace. And as we continue to nurse on God’s word, and learn the vocabulary of faith, we will grow. We know the language….Our father, who art in heaven…praise God, from whom all blessings flow…this is my body, broken for you…as we hear and say those words, we’ll continue to grow in our faith, maturing from infants into spiritual adults.