The Apostle Peter wrote, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (I Peter 2:2). The people to whom Peter was writing had been and were suffering from persecution. They needed strength, both from the word of God and from other Christians. Peter serves as a perfect example of a Christian who knew how to encourage and uplift others.

The words that Peter penned are still needed to be heeded in our day. We NEED to “desire the sincere milk of the word” that we may grow as children of God. Spiritual food is needed today just as it was in the time of Peter’s writing.

While we may not suffer from persecution as such, we are bombarded with immortality and worldliness almost every day. Without having a steady diet of spiritual food, the possibility of “perishing from hunger” exists.

The desire Peter talked about means to want for or to seek after. Just as the baby counts feeding time as an important event, so should the child of God count the time when the Bible can be studied.

As one begins to take in spiritual nourishment, the appetite for spiritual things should increase.

A steady diet of the word of God will help us to realize our need for God in our lives more each day. It will also help us come to realize our responsibility to “feed” the starving masses with this same word. We will yearn to fulfill the words of Christ, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:0Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19,20a). It will also better equip us to “…fear God and keep His commandments…” (Ecc.12:13). When we are constantly feeding upon God’s word, we should be filled with the desire to serve God faithfully.

Desiring the word is something that must last our entire lifetime. Study of the word produces faith (Rom. 10:17), repentance (Luke 13:3), leading one to be willing to confess Jesus as the Son of God (Matt. 10:32), and then a desire to have one’s sins washed away by baptism (Acts 2:38). May we ever heed Peter’s admonition, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby:” (I Peter 2:2).