Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Desire the word


I Pet. 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
Peter is writing to christians scattered throughout Asia Minor and encouraging them in their faith. There were those among them who were dealing with severe persecution from both the Roman government as well as the Jewish authorities, and they were beginning to question whether or not their faithfulness was worth all the trouble. Paul encourages them in this passage to desire the word of God as their life sustaining force. He tells them to desire it the same way that that a baby desires it's mother's milk.
One of my goats recently had twins, it is amazing to see the fervor and frequency with which they nurse, it is a driving force inside them telling them that if they want to live long, they have to go to their mother's milk. It ought to be the same for us as christians, if we want to grow and thrive as children of God, we have got to read God's word with both fervor and frequency. It is not a chore or obligation to read our bibles on a daily basis, instead it ought to be both instinctive and a pleasure. If the word of God ought to be as important to us as nourishment is to a growing baby, then why are we so negligent about reading our bibles? Why are we so reluctant to put ourselves under the preaching of the word of God? Why do we look for entertainment as opposed to strong doctrinal content in our pulpits?
Peter said one of the best ways to counter trials and persecution is to develop a deep desire to read God's word, the only way to develop a desire for something is to fall in love with it, and the only way to fall in love with something is to spend time with it. We have a hard time keeping our daily bible reading schedule, because we don't discipline ourselves to read it. I have found in my own life that when I make sure I'm reading my bible, I have more of a desire to read my bible, and when I let myself become slack I lose interest and desire.
Notice also Peter calls it a sincere word. The scriptures are not simply a guideline for life, they are not good suggestions for how you ought to live, nor are they trivial historic factoids. The bible is a sincere word, one that needs to be taken seriously, a word of truth that is a command to righteous living. Peter had no qualms about it's authenticity and the trendy attraction that has taken over much of the world questioning the Bible's canonicity, had no place in Peter's way of thinking and speaking to others concerning the importance of the holy writ. Such vain babbling ought not persuade us, instead we are to be steadfast in our belief, trusting in the sincere word that has the power to shine the light of the glorious gospel on our hearts.
I would encourage you to follow Peter's command to both desire and revere the word of God, that it would be a staple for your daily life, and a blessing instead of a burden.

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