1 Peter 2:2-3 2like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, in order that by it you may grow up into salvation, 3since you have tasted that the Lord is kind.
After expressing the vices to avoid in verse 1, Peter gives the positive command of what we should desire. He uses the image of a newborn baby who longs for the milk of its mother. A suckling babe survives by connection to its mother. There is something simple and innocent about babies. Their lives are simple: food, sleep, poop, and pee. But deeper under this surface simplicity is a growing love the baby has for its mother, father, and family. Peter’s image here is vivid and beautiful. We can have a simplicity as believers of wanting the greatest gifts God has for us. At the top of the list is relationship with God and growth in Christ through study of God’s word.
We should not stay babies but must grow up beyond the simple milk of initial salvation. A mother’s milk provides all the nutrition a baby needs. The baby depends on this for survival. Likewise, we depend on studying the word and growing in our faith. The Bible is our connection to the historical Jesus and all the testimony about him in the Old and New Testaments. Salvation is not something static, a union card we get one time so we can get us into the clubhouse of the church.
Peter alludes to Psalm 34:8 in verse 3. Salvation is a relationship in which we can grow. Tasting that the Lord is good should make us want more. Kind or “good” (chrēstos) can have the sense of benevolence and love. The theme of this Psalm is how God’s goodness can be seen how God takes care of those who are suffering. Being born again (1:3) initiates the journey of holiness. We grow in holiness through our obedience to what God teaches us in Scripture. Experiencing God’s grace should inspire us to further depths and commitment.