So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—  if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Now that Peter has laid the groundwork of the riches we have in Christ, he shifts into some ideas about how we ought to live. Like toy cars that start creaking when fully wound up, there eventually is a release. Go back to last week if some bolts have loosened because Peter expects a launch, not a limp.

We are told to "long for the pure spiritual milk" in order that the imperishable seeds in us might grow into trees and fruits - but what does that exactly mean?

We long for things that we enjoy just as we enjoy foods that taste good to us. But like many good things in life, godliness is an acquired taste. What Peter lists out: malice, deceit, hypocrisy and envy, feel good to our flesh and may have some genuine appeal, but they ultimately result in brokenness and disconnection. Sin in its nature and effects ought to be distasteful to us, like drinking spoiled milk.

But pure spiritual milk tastes like the goodness of the Lord. Notice the connection between verse 2 and 3 - it is a longing for what you have tasted, a longing for the goodness of God. 

Obedience to the Bible’s commands for our desires and emotions is impossible when left to our own devices. Longing is fundamentally different from forgiving, or turning the other cheek, or not murdering in this respect. Just as we cannot be humble by trying to be humble, trying to conjure up emotions and desires in a willful way does not work. It is when the focus shifts to the object of our desires, namely Christ in his goodness and beauty, that we begin to long, that we can be truly transformed.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Behold Him and find your deepest longings awakened!