This mother cow’s baby calf died, so a Holstein calf (dairy calf) was grafted to this mother cow who enjoys her “new” baby.
Desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby. I Peter 2:2
The Grieb girls, Wynetta, Margie and Connie for years (Connie Jr. High through college) worked as a team to raise drop calves (calves we got from a dairy). Twice a day the many calves had to be fed milk from bottles or buckets. We had many other chores to get done in the morning before school, in addition to feeding the drop calves. So during drop calf raising we got to drive to school rather than ride the bus. Milk was essential to the growth of these calves and our profits depended on it.
Right now, it’s calving season at the Grieb Ranch which keeps us alert and available. The most essential thing a newborn calf needs is the colostrum (first milk) from the mother within 2 hours. The most essential thing we need each day is the milk of God’s word.
In the devotional, Hope for Each Day Billy Graham reminds us, “Just as our bodies need food, so our souls need spiritual food. Without it we become malnourished and weak, susceptible to every temptation and unable to do the work God calls us to do.”
Where do we find this spiritual food? In the Bible, the Word of God. The Bible reveals Christ, the Bread of Life and the Water of Life. If we fail to partake of this spiritual nourishment, we will lose our spiritual vitality.
Societies around the globe do not enjoy the freedom we have to read the Bible: They don’t have access to God’s word. Yet, the problem for most of us not that we don’t have access to the Bible, it’s using a Bible-actually picking it up and reading it.
Don’t be content to skim through a chapter, merely to satisfy your conscience or because of some long-established habit. Rather, read it as if your life depended on it. Meditate on it, memorize it, hide it in your heart so it permeates your whole being. A small portion well digested is of far greater spiritual value than a lengthy passage scanned hurriedly.