There's nothing quite like the face of a newborn baby. It really doesn't matter if the baby is adorable or not, when we look into those eyes we can't help but be just a little breathless over something delivered so recently from heaven. Truly it's a miracle. Everything about it. It makes me a little teary-eyed just thinking about my own babies and my first glance at them.
I kinda get the same way thinking about baby Christians. You know..those that are so freshly saved from the grip of their sin and the enemy? They have this beautiful look about them. One of awe...one of newness....hungry for the milk of the word...ready for whatever God has for them. It's exciting..and yes, very much a miracle. How Christ can breath new life into a human and change them forever is something I won't ever fully understand, but I can certainly appreciate.
But a newborn baby needs lots of love, tender care, diaper changing, bottle feeding and burping. Left to themselves...well can we just say a collective "gross". And in today's society, if a baby is left alone for any amount of time it is deemed "neglect"...and momma's have lost their babies for that mistake. I wonder if the same isn't true with spiritual babies. When a child of God is newly born they can be messy....think about it. God saves us from all sorts of stuff and a baby Christian who struggles with drug addictions, homosexuality, alcoholism, cutting, over-eating, anger issues, abuse, lying, cheating...or fill in the blank sin.....when we become a Christian...it can be messy if no one comes along side us and walks the road of infancy with us. And if older, mature Christians don't do this...it's neglect. Yep...spiritual neglect. We are called to discipleship. We are called to walk alongside the weaker brother or sister...the younger ones and make a difference by sharing what God has said in His Word. That's really loving a baby...that's discipleship.
That's when babies start growing...into cute little toddlers...then boys and girls and tweens and teens and then as maturing, continuously growing believers who in turn can disciple...reproduce...nurture...with God's power and grace, more beautiful babes in Christ.
The process is beautiful...the cheering on of a baby Christian as they take their first steps, speak their first words of testimony, try their first taste of solid food of the Word. It's invigorating. Rewarding. Just like a parent watching their own child grow. We as a community of believers need to be busy being involved in the discipleship...the maturing of others. This isn't some job to be left undone. This isn't the time for neglect.
Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
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