“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).
WE NEED TO GET A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING IN OUR MINDS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND HIS WORD. Though this is not always an easy thing to do, we must work at it. God is a personal Being. He is not His word. But His word is indispensable in obtaining and maintaining fellowship with Him. We can’t properly appreciate God if we don’t properly respect the Scriptures, and yet there is more to loving God than loving Bible study. Perhaps these concepts are hard to keep in balance, but the closer we come to appreciating the role of God’s word in His work of redemption, the better the quality of our spiritual lives will be.
Peter wrote that we ought to “desire the pure milk of the word.” Just as a hungry baby longs for milk, we should desire the nourishment of God’s word. And our exposure to the inspired writings should be more than casual and occasional. A familiar text in Acts indicates that the citizens of Berea “were more fair‑minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). They searched the Scriptures daily. If the Scriptures are what they purport to be, then the word “search” is an appropriate word to describe how we ought to read them. Our approach to God’s word must not be any less diligent than our seeking of God Himself (Hebrews 11:6).
Although we’ve thought about it many times and the idea may have become familiar to us, it is still an astonishing thing that God has communicated to us as He has. Our Creator has not merely given us our lives, but He has given us the gift of language and then spoken to us! We don’t have to have a technical understanding of biblical inspiration in order to be awed by the concept of having such documents in our possession. These texts contain truths that came from the very mind of God, and they are given to aid us in seeking a right relationship with Him. This is a fact of no slight importance. It is also a fact that calls for a reverent, diligent response from us. If we profess to be seekers of God, then we must prepare to be searchers of the Scriptures.
“Be astounded that God should have written to us” (Anthony of Egypt).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
