There really is no such thing as “cold”, there is merely the absence of heat. Likewise, there’s no such thing as dark, just the absence of light.
And there’s no such thing as evil. There is only the absence of righteousness, a life that honours God by rightly relating to Him and others.
God gave His Law as a means of turning on the lights in a dark room, turning on the heater in a chilly basement. And yet, for some strange reason, many of us continue living in a cold, dark place rather than coming into the warmth and light that God offers.
How do we do this? We fail to open up and read God’s Word.
Biblical illiteracy is not just an embarrassment for incoming college students. It has infiltrated the Christian community as well. We have the best Story on the planet, and we’re largely ignorant of it. Because we don’t know our own Story, we can’t tell it very well. We settle for bits and pieces told in mostly a Reader’s Digest format. (No offence to the good folks at that fine periodical, but some books aren’t meant to be condensed into bite-sized portions.)
I want to be adamant about this point. I’m so very glad you clicked on this blog post and are reading it. It is my hope and prayer that you gain much and grow greatly as a result of my thoughts here. I spent a lot of time and energy producing this, and I would hate to think of that all as a waste. I’m honoured and humbled that you have read this far.
However, this book is not intended to ever become a substitute for the real thing. You’ll never grow into the kind of person who thinks and feels and does the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason without picking up God’s Word.
Read it. Study it. Learn it. Memorise it. Meditate on it. Live it, not as an end in and of itself, but as a means to a greater end, to become progressively more and more like its Author.
Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone did? Can you imagine a single day with no murder, no gossip, no child abuse, no deceit, no fraud, no divorce? God intends to create just such a world, and He intends to start with you. Pick up His Word, read it and do what it says, and we can all get on with it!
O Lord, You have revealed Your will and Your ways in Your Word. In its pages I discover truths about You, about myself, about others and about Your world. Grant me the grace to overcome the spiritual and moral inertia that keeps me from being a regular student of the Bible. May I read its pages, meditate on the words and truths, and hide Your Word in my heart so that I will not succumb to temptation and sin, but be increasingly honouring to You. Grant that I would choose to set my mind and heart on the things above, where Christ is, seated in the heavenly places. I want to be defined by the truths of Your Word rather than the lies of this passing world system. As I learn and reflect on Your truths, I want to respond with unconditional commitment, knowing that I love You because You first loved me.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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