1 Peter 2:2-3 says, "Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness."

Being that 1 Peter is one of my favorite books of the Bible, i can't tell you how many times i have read those verses; however, tonight, they spoke to me in a way they never had before. and i think that most of that was due to the fact that i took the time to read what my application portion said about these two verses. it reads as follows:

One characteristic all children share is that they want to grow up...When we are born again, we become spiritual newborn babies. If we are healthy, we will yearn to grow. How sad it is that some people never grow up. The need for milk is a natural instinct for a baby, and it signals the desire for noursihment that will lead to growth. Once we see our need for God's Word and begin to find noursihment in Christ, our spiritual appetite will increase, and we will start to mature.

talk about the Lord speaking to and teaching me through two seemingly simple verses.

since going to india and growing more in my relationship with Christ in those six weeks than i ever have before, i've struggled so much since being home not feeling like i have been growing or learning anything at all. sure, i've been able to see the way the Lord still answers my prayers here in the states just as he did in india, but there's just been something different, and i never could quite put my finger on it.

i think those two verses have helped me understand more, though.

i had such a HUGE taste of the Lord's kindness this summer and i have continued to have tastes of his kindness in other areas of my life, but i wasn't crying out for the nourishment quite like i should have been after tasting how good, wonderful, marvelous, magnificent, and sovereign he truly is.

i have a long way to go, but i'm excited for the journey. i want to continue learning what it means to extend grace, trust blindly, and love boldly...but more than anything i want to have childlike faith and i want the nourishment He wants to give me in order to be made more and more into his image.