Here Comes the Airplane!

When we were babies, the ones who cared for us fed us food that we could digest. They took that spoon, dipped it into the carrot paste, and suddenly it wasn’t carrot paste but rather an airplane that was determined to enter your mouth. As the months went on, we began to realize what was really going on, and that the airplane was really smuggling vegetables in its cargo hold. As we got older, we started to learn what different foods looked like, and how to eat them. By the time we were 7 or 8 we were probably eating just about everything on our own and (usually) using the proper utensils. Not only had the way in which we ate changed, but also the type of food we were eating changed. Now that our chompers had developed, we were able to take a nice bite out of steak, chew it up, and swallow it bit by bit in order to digest it and gain the nutrients from it to continue to grow.

• Question 1: Which one of those processes is easier on us? Probably the little carrot-smuggling airplane.
• Question 2: Which one is more satisfying? Definitely the one where you eat food that someone else HASN’T chewed, right?

¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

-Hebrews 5:12–14 (NASB95)

Part of being spiritually mature is being able to chew up and digest your own food. Some fall into the trap of allowing a preacher or teacher pre-chew their food for them and spit it into their spiritual mouth so that they can easily swallow it. The problem with that is that you haven’t had the experience of taking that Bible passage and seeing how tough or tender its teaching is, or seeing how complex its taste is. When we eat physical food, the best part (in my opinion) is when you first pop that bite into your mouth and begin to chew it and release all the flavor and good juice from the meat. The swallowing part is something you have to do so your body can get nourishment, and so that you can move on to the next chunk of excellence.

When you study the Bible, let your spirit chew its own food. The most enjoyable part of Bible study is when you read a passage and realize some of the teachings that are there, and begin asking the questions that arise from those observations. It’s like when you eat a piece of steak and as you first taste it, you ask, “mmmmm….what is IN this?” Ask yourself, “What is in this verse I’m reading?” Then once you understand the different parts of the verse, it’s time to digest. Let the Bible tell you how to nourish your spiritual body so that it continues to grow and mature in Christ. Digestion is all about application. We ask ourselves, “How does this passage affect me?” and, “Am I living this teaching, or have I been neglecting it?” Then, when we have chewed, analyzed, and digested that passage, we’re ready to move on to the next piece. As Christians, let’s chew our own food. Let’s enjoy the Bible, and stop relying on pre-chewed study.