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Back to Basics

As a young singer in high school, I had the privilege of being able to take voice lessons. Altogether, I took lessons for about 15 years or so. Although singing can be fun and is a performance art, voice lessons are not very glamorous. It is marked by hours of mundane practice - woodshedding. The most common teaching theme I learned was, “Don’t get too fancy” and “Practice the fundamentals.” They stressed that for me to grow as a vocalist, I needed to practice my vocalises and stick with the basics of sound vocal production. Only then would I be able to perform increasingly difficult pieces.


The Apostle Peter instructs, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation." (1 Peter 2:2 NIV) Peter’s allusion to babies and milk is interesting. How basic is that? I’m reminded of the instruction given to us in my childhood congregation when someone got saved. The instruction was to 1) Read your bible and pray daily and 2) Fast. It was simple and a way to help new Christians learn foundational habits to help them grow.


Ultimately, the purpose is to grow so that we glorify God. That’s the goal. Ben Cerullo writes that “going back to the basics means a lot more than just being able to quote a few Bible verses. It means allowing God’s Word to become such a part of us that we can stand in victory and impact the world for Jesus.”


We cannot get to the ultimate goal by being fancy, leaning on our own understanding, striving for worldly treasure, or pursuing prosperity and financial gain. We get there by practicing the fundamentals. Richard Foster calls them spiritual disciples. Whatever the name, it is the simple pursuit of Jesus. Only then will we grow in stature and be able to have an impact. Having an impact is not the goal, glorifying God is the goal.


Lord, help me to get back to the basics of knowing you and feeding on the Word of God. Help me to not seek worldly knowledge and pursue things that don’t lead me to you. Help me to crave pure spiritual milk, so that I may grow up in my salvation.
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