Stratford Church of Christ Column
Most of us have heard the story of the preacher who went to visit one of the church members who had not been to worship for a long time. Noticing the man’s Bible on the coffee table, the preacher picked it up and began thumbing through its pages. Very soon, however, the preacher began to sneeze. This Bible was filled with dust because it had not been opened in a very long time.
My wife and I had a similar experience this year.
We had a short vacation time in Branson, Missouri, and checked in at a certain motel. When it came time to have our daily Bible reading, we noticed that the room came with a Bible in the nightstand. When I picked it up, it quickly became obvious that this Bible had been suffering from a long experience with neglect. The dust was very thick across the cover. No handprints had disturbed the dust that had gathered over a long period of time.
I dusted the Bible off and flipped the pages from side to side to have the ability of reading from it without sneezing.
How much we love the Lord and His word is easily reflected by how much time we spend with the Lord in prayer and in reading the Bible. Our love cannot help but grow toward God when we spend time each day reading from His instructions. Failing to do so will only help us to grow farther away from the Heavenly Father.
Psalm 1 has a lot to say about the attitude we should have toward the Bible. Verses 1 and 2 give us the following instruction: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
I remember reading a story about a young man who loved his bride-to-be very much. They planned to be married within a year, but the Civil War broke out, and the young man went into the military. As they tearfully said goodbye, he promised to write to her every day.
When the young man was able to finally come home, his first stop was his fiancée’s house. They held each other closely when he arrived. Before long, he asked her to get all the letters he had written to her.
His letters had told of his intense love for her and of his plans for their future.
When she brought the bundle of letters to him, he discovered that not one letter had been opened. Not one word of his expressions of love and devotion he had written had ever been read. It would be difficult to imagine the grave disappointment he must have experienced.
Such a story should help us learn that God’s love for us has been written in His word, the Bible. If we truly love Him in return, we should be eager to hear what He says. We should be enthusiastic to open His word daily to read and meditate upon the revelation of God’s intense love for us through Christ.
Reading of the Lord’s wonderful plans for our future with Him if we will obey His teaching (Mark 16:16) should bring the greatest joy to our hearts.
As we spend ample time with the Lord and His word, we cannot help but grow closer to Him.
God’s word is important.
Spending valuable time reading from the Bible’s pages will show that we have a very great delight in spending time with our God.
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Be sure to read it well, read it carefully, and read it daily. Within its pages you will find the great love of God expressed on a cross, and from an empty tomb.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16, 17).
The New Testament book of Acts tells us how to obey God in becoming Christians. The way we are to live our daily lives for the Heavenly Father is written throughout the Scriptures.
All of this being true, just how much time do you spend reading your Bible?
God really is your Creator, and your soul really will live somewhere forever.
Since this is so, shouldn’t you be spending time reading God’s instruction manual, the Bible?