"It's supposed to be natural but..."

Hola!

Ok...there was nothing natural about that! Well, maybe...nah.
Praise report - my daughter Nyomi was finally released from the NICU! God is good. We all (Jeneil, Nyomi and myself) spent our first night at home together. Wow! Nothing can brace you for the joy and the pain all rolled into that first hilariously sleepless night...except for maybe being a Training Instructor at Christian Boot Camp. You want to laugh because things are just hilarious @ 12:30am, 2:00am (ish), 3:00am (ish), 4:00am (ish), etc. You also want to cry because you like sleep and nothing could possibly be funny at those times.

Our main struggle last night was breast feeding. Nyomi would cry and cry even though she was right next to her food supply. We did everything the doctors and nurses told us to do and she still didn't want to comply. Then into my ears rang the words that a nurse told us the night before concerning breast feeding. "IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE NATURAL, BUT IT'S STILL A LOT OF WORK!" She was so right!

That got me thinking about discipleship and the disciplines of the believer. A lot of times when you are in the position to minister the Word of God like I am (or if you are a little older in the faith), you can tend to start thinking, "Why in the world aren't these people feasting on the Word of God?" "Why is their prayer life all wacky?" "Aren't they born again?" "Maybe they just said the sinner's prayer and were not truly converted because anyone who is truly born again should have a natural desire to feast on God's Word." It's true. People should have a natural desire if they are converted. Just like natural babies, they should desire milk! But desire is not enough. They must be taught HOW to feed. They need to know how to position their heads, how to latch on if they have trouble, etc. While my wife and I were talking to the nurse, the nurse told us that most babies need to be trained how to properly breast feed. We can't just put them there and say "Go at it, Kid. And may God be with you!" We can't do that in the spirit either. But isn't that exactly what we do?? A person gets saved and we throw the whole Bible at them and say "Eat up Kid...and Godspeed to you!". They take the Bible, try it out for a little bit...and then comes the crying! And of course, we get frustrated because we're like, "You're sitting right in front of your food supply! Latch on!" Babies must be taught.

I think we may be sitting in churches where there are some with a true hunger for the things of God. If someone were to come and teach them the "hows" of the Christian faith, they would not deny themselves the opportunity to learn. But we need the fathers. We need the mothers. And not only that, we need fathers and mothers who have a heart to raise spiritual sons and daughters. This is multigenerational unity. It might cost both parties some sleepless nights. But the fruit is well worth it. The Christian life is supposed to be natural...but it's hard work! Let's remember this as we continue to be disciples and make disciples for the Lord.