The Toothless Lion

"For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of G-d; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

"For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of the righteousness: for he is as a babe.

"But strong meat belongs to them that are full of age, even those who by reason of use have the senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

~ Hebrews 5:12-14

When we first start our journey in our faith the L-rd describes us as babes, mere infants, that He wishes to raise up on H-s words and wisdom. In this aspect we are nurtured by our G-d on H-s milk so that one day we might mature into the mighty warriors he created us to be. This is a phase in our journey that is precious and vital to our spiritual well-being. It is a bonding period that binds our soul to the very heart of G-d. But it was never meant to last forever. 

At some point we are meant to grow into the lions G-d has shaped us into. Our manes grow out, our muscles are made strong, and our teeth appear. All of this is made possible by the milk of G-d's word. Yet none of these aspects of maturity can be sustained by milk alone. 

Like lions, we go through the phase of "cutting our teeth". We make mistakes and get to anxious to move onto the meat. At times we are just to eager and hit the ground running in whichever given direction. And for the most part, these mishaps are easily corrected and we get back on course and follow in our L-rd's footsteps once again. 

But for some of us these little errors in judgement are enough to make them turn away from the next phase or leave their faith all together. When it comes time to use their teeth they simply reject the premiss all together. For others the very idea of moving on from the milk phase is just too great a step for them to take. Instead of maturing in their faith they seem more content to stay an infant for the rest of time. In either case the end result is always the same. 

Starvation. 

A lion without its teeth is doomed. Without the ability to accept ourselves for what G-d has made us and is shaping us into leaves us toothless. And in our spiritual lives there is no such thing as stagnation. There is only growth and starvation. 

The soul of man was made to seek after its Cr-ator. To do this it has to be able to grow beyond simply knowing that G-d exist. It needs to know the love of G-d. And after that it yearns to know every other aspect of G-d. If it is cut off from learning, from growing, it starts to retreat. The passion our souls naturally posses for G-d mirrors the passion G-d posses for us. 

Once we learn to accept the challenges laid before us and learn to accept both our failures and defeats, we learn what it means to cut our teeth. From that point on the meat of G-d is our persistent "hunt" for H-m... our seeking after H-s presence, H-s word, and H-s heart. Once we learn how to do this we learn what it means to truly never be 'hungry' again. 

"The young lions do lack, and suffer from hunger: but they that seek the J-hovah shall not want any good thing."

~ Psalm 34:10