When we tour, we always stay with the Cake Lady in Bloemfontein. She’s one of those nice people who can’t stop doing good. She cooks like my mom used to and her nickname isn’t Cake Lady for nothing. When we ask if we can stay over, she doesn’t say yes, she asks another question: What kind of cake should she bake for each of us?

It’s a real treat to stay there. When we arrive, it’s Sunday lunch leg of lamb, potatoes and vegetables. For dessert, a big slice of carrot cake. Then it’s time to light the fire to braai the homemade kebabs. And that’s how it goes every day. You have to fast for at least a week to get the scale to return to normal.

During that week your digestive system has to work extra hard to process everything. Fortunately, the fresh yogurt and fruit for breakfast assist with this. We are big men who need lots of energy during the day and can, therefore, easily burn the huge amount of food.

However, if you give such serious food to a toddler or baby, they will struggle to digest it. Their systems are not yet developed to convert loads of food into energy. They have too little gastric juices to even digest a small piece of meat. That’s why a baby starts with milk and then porridge and then mashed, boiled vegetables only.

And by the way, who’s in charge of the recipes for Purity baby food, because I don’t know how a baby can ever enjoy that! But wait, I’m losing track of my story again.

After staying with the Cake Lady last week, I understand the following verses much better: ¹³… baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; ¹⁴solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong.

Why would one remain a baby spiritually? I suspect it’s when Christians do not study their faith. Now and then they read a devotional piece or a verse or two of Scripture. Send a quick prayer upwards, hoping someone hears it, and then they go on with their usual way of life.

That’s not the way to grow your faith. Then you keep wondering about your faith and when the wind rises, doubt overcomes you. Taking others by the hand and helping them through a crisis is certainly not on the cards.

We must put aside much more time to grow in our faith. We must spend more time in God’s Word. We must listen to and observe the men and women of God who have the calling to teach others. There are many of them on TV and the internet.

A good plate of homemade food is much better than baby food (especially Purity!). There is so much that we can receive when we grow in faith and it is so much more enjoyable. Let’s be serious about our faith. Let’s kick off our baby shoes and grow up in our faith. Then we’ll be able to help others.

Scripture
Hebrews 5:11-14

Reflection
Are you still on baby food?
Are you on solids already?
What next?

Prayer
Father, I’m done with the baby food. I want to spend more time with You. I want to mean more to others, but I know then I will have to change the way I live. I want to and I will do it. In Jesus’ Name, amen.