In Hebrews 5 the writer is longing to download some great revelations of who Jesus is, but is having a hard time because the people have stopped trying to understand. He says in verses 11-14,
“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.“
He says by now these people should be well versed in these truths and should be able to teach them but instead they have given up. They stopped trying to understand. It’s those who seek who find. If you want to intentionally grow in knowledge, understanding, experience, maturity and ability you must take action.
I have been thinking about the necessity of continually practicing the fundamentals. NBA players who are some of the best basketball players in the world still practice the fundamentals. Dribbling, passing, free throws, layups, double backflip dunks. When you relax on the fundamentals you lose your edge. When great players go up against other great players, the discipline of the fundamentals and conditioning has a big impact on the out come.
There is a real thing called, “use it or lose it”. If these players stop doing resistance training and endurance training, they will lose strength and speed. You can gain it back, but it is not instant. The only reason you stop training for a long period of time is because you lost sight of the reason for it.
The writer of Hebrews says, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.” Not only did these people stop practicing the fundamentals, they forgot what they were. Talk about going on a vacation and never coming back.
Practicing the fundamentals creates the foundation and environment for growth and maturity. The lack of practice is in direct relation to the lack of focus on vision and purpose.