“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:2-3)

I remember the days when I was nursing my newborn son. It seemed like a miracle—somehow my ordinary body was able to produce the food he needed to grow and become strong. I watched him putting on weight and getting cute and chubby the way babies do, and I marveled. How was this possible?

I knew that the milk was coming from my own body—my own substance. And this is true also for the picture that Peter is painting for us of the Lord. Like newborn infants, we long for the spiritual milk God gives us; and that milk doesn’t come from the supermarket! No, it comes from the body and blood of our own dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This always amazes me—that God would want to be so intimately and lovingly related to us. Anyone who has nursed a child knows that the child is almost like another limb, a part of your own body. This is not something you can do in four or five minutes, or at a distance. No, you spend hours every day holding that baby in your arms and loving him or her. It is a major commitment. Maybe this is why Peter uses the image of a nursing mother and child to describe the way God sustains us.

Because, of course, Jesus’ loving commitment to us goes past that of any mother or father. It was for us that He lay down His life on the cross, and for us that He rose from the dead. Jesus is our life and forgiveness and salvation. And He has become the Source of our nourishment in the faith, day after day—because He loves us.

We Pray: Dear Lord, feed me and cause me to grow strong in You. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever cared for a very young child? If so, how much of a commitment did it require from you?
2. Why were you willing to provide that care? What does that say about God’s commitment to you?
3. Does it surprise you that God would choose such a humble and intimate image to show the way he cares for us? Why or why not?