I have never seen a baby being born. When our boys were coming along, dads just didn’t do that. My sons, however, have witnessed the births of each of their children. They tell me it is a mysterious, beautiful miracle. My middle son, Ben, described the birth of his first daughter, Nicole, in one word: awe. A newborn is a totally dependent, totally vulnerable being. They have nothing. They need everything.
When we are born again, we are not born into spiritual adulthood. We are babies. But we are not meant to stay in the infant stage indefinitely, any more than my six grandchildren are.
In the first moments, days, weeks and even years of new life in Christ, the operative word is vulnerable. The babe in Christ is vulnerable to false teachings, to cults, to old habits and relationships, and to addictions. He or she needs a steady, balanced diet of sound teaching, prayer, fellowship and “the breaking of bread”. These items are the “staples” of the Christian life, and we must have them to grow strong.
Tom Landry, coach of the Dallas Cowboys for almost three decades, said, “A coach is someone who gets men to do what they do not want to do in order to achieve that which they have always wanted to be.”
I love that. We may not always want to “do” the spiritual disciplines that are prescribed for our growth, but we do want to grow and become champions for God. With that one goal, every Christian born could live a life that’s out of this world!
