¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Maturity is depicted as the ability to handle solid food, not just milk. Keep in mind that in the ancient world milk was not considered a normal adult beverage, wine being the common liquid refreshment. However, the symbolism is quite obvious, Normal growth involves moving from the mother’s breast milk to eating solid food—this is common language and experience that any mother is quite familiar with. An infant that does not progress in this way has serious problems!

As Christians, likewise, we need to be growing or there are serious problems! Have you been a Christian 10 years, or have you been a Christian 1 year ten times over? In other words, have you stopped growing?

None of us would ever declare, “I am now mature.” True humility would prevent that, as well as an honest understanding of our own feebleness and weakness of faith. However, it is entirely possible and to be expected that we could, in fact, that we should say, “I am maturing.” There ought to be active growth where I can say I am more mature today than I was yesterday.

So what is maturity like? Our passage indicates that a maturing person is one who puts into practice the truth of the Word of God and is growing in his ability to think and discern righteousness, the difference between good and evil, right and wrong. This means having our minds honed and transformed (Romans 12:2) so that as we face life situations, the saturation of the Word in our lives enables us to discern the right and wrong thing to do. We have years of training and practice in applying the Word in everyday situations. We think more and more instinctively in the right ways, because we are maturing in the Word.

Consider of a child learning to ride a bicycle. First attempts take enormous concentration and effort. The body tenses up as the little one learns to balance and pedal at the same time. It doesn’t come easily. But with “practice” (vs. 14), skill is developed and eventually riding a bike becomes second nature. The subtle nuances of balance (gravity pulling down on both sides of the bike at the same time) become automatic.

So too, Christian maturity brings the ability to discern the nuances of faith and obedience. In light of the whole message to the Hebrews, we learn that faith engenders obedience, and not the other way around. Normal Christianity is a maturing faith that continually grows in grace and righteousness.