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we must be weaned

Hebrews 5:11-14 (JDV)

Hebrews 5:11 We have a great deal to say about this, and it is hard to explain since you have become too lazy to understand.
Hebrews 5:12 And you see, by this time you ought to be teachers, but you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food.
Hebrews 5:13 You see, everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness because he is an infant.
Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature – for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

The author of Hebrews pauses his argument because he recognizes a painful reality: the community he is addressing has not grown as they should. Deffinbaugh captures this moment well. The writer has been unfolding a profound vision of Christ’s priesthood, drawing from Scripture, temple imagery, and the rich heritage of Israel’s worship. Yet he suddenly stops, aware that his readers may not be prepared to grasp what he is saying. He compares their condition to that of a child who can handle only milk. Milk is appropriate for infancy, but it cannot sustain a growing body. Solid food is necessary for strength, maturity, and endurance. The image is simple, but the implication is sharp. These believers had remained spiritually underdeveloped far longer than was healthy.

Their immaturity was not due to lack of teaching or lack of opportunity. It was the result of a quiet contentment with the status quo. They had settled into a pattern of faith that required little sacrifice and avoided conflict. To press deeper into Christ would have widened the gap between them and their Jewish families, friends, and communities. Growth would have meant tension. Devotion would have meant loss. Remaining spiritually childlike was easier than facing the cost of maturity. The writer grieves this, not because he expects perfection, but because he knows that a faith unwilling to grow becomes a faith vulnerable to drifting, compromise, and eventual collapse.

This condition is not unique to the first century. Many believers today find themselves in the same place. The call to deeper obedience, clearer conviction, and fuller devotion often collides with relationships, expectations, and comforts that feel too costly to surrender. Spiritual infancy becomes a refuge from the demands of discipleship. Yet the writer of Hebrews insists that growth cannot occur without a decisive break from whatever keeps faith stunted. Just as a child must eventually be weaned from milk to thrive, believers must be weaned from patterns, attachments, and fears that prevent maturity.

The question is not meant to shame but to awaken. Growth requires movement. Maturity requires nourishment. Devotion requires courage. The invitation is to step away from the things that keep faith small and to embrace the solid food of deeper trust in Christ.

LORD, we are ready to press the issue by walking away from the things that are keeping our faith immature. We know that for growth to happen, we must be weaned.

Deffinbaugh Robert L and Mark L Strauss. Hebrews Thru Revelation: Wisdom for Today and Forever. Barbour Pub 2008. p. 29.