Guest Blogger Today: Jan Knox

Chris Frizzell’s words a few days ago regarding “dogie” lambs opened a chamber of childhood memories for me. While I never had any experience with sheep, I did have numerous opportunities to bottle-feed orphaned calves. I would mix the powdered milk with water in a two-quart calf bottle, then head out to the cow pen, calling the calf’s name as I went. Sometimes, if I didn’t get out there quick enough, the calf would call for me, bawling incessantly until I (or rather the bottle) came into view. Either way, it never failed – the calf would come running to meet me at the fence and drain the bottle dry in a matter of minutes. It would suck on the six-inch nipple with surprising force, almost pulling the bottle from my hands in its zeal for the milk.

These are the images that come to mind as I contemplate today’s reading. “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word…” (NASB). “Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness” (NLT). In assessing the strength of my hunger for God and His Word, I ask myself this question, “Do I crave the wisdom and presence of the Lord with the same passion as that of those young calves gulping down the life-giving flow of milk from the bottle?” There is no good reason not to because I have experienced more than just a taste of the Lord’s kindness in my life.

May God use these reflections from the past to increase our desire for Him today.