Several years ago a new diet craze came on the scene – one that caught my “sweet tooth” attention. Diet Doctor Sanford Siegal promoted eating cookies as a way to lose weight. The news promo showed overweight people stuffing their faces with Oreos and giant Mrs. Fields cookies while the voiceover says, “Imagine losing 15 pounds a month while eating cookies!! Find out why people are going crazy for the Cookie Diet on the six-o’clock news.” Now you know that caught my attention!
People crave and go crazy over the possibility of losing weight the easy way. If it can be done while eating cookies, then by all means, set the oven to 350 degrees and grab the spatula. It could only be improved upon if one could eat the cookies in a bowl of Blue Bell Ice Cream.
The Apostle Peter recommends that Christians long, crave, and even lust for something. But this strong desire is not for anything in this world – not even cookies; rather, it is a craving for the word of God. Peter writes, “like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord” (I Peter 2:2-3).
If you crave something, may it be a craving for the word of God to help you know God better and grow up in Christ to be a mature Christian. It is the best thing you can do for yourself – even better than a cookie diet. You are guaranteed by God to be happier, more content, and fulfilled. Crave the milk, not the cookie.
Mike