As retirement draws closer, I’m making a list of things I want to do more intentionally. After working for 40 years from 9:00 to 5:00, I want to take time in my days to meet friends for lunch. To have the time to sit and talk with them (for as long as we want) and catch up on their lives. With social media I have been able to stay in touch, but it lacks much of the intimacy of friendship.
Spending time with friends helps us deepen our relationship, hearing about hopes, joys, and needs. It deepens my love for them. It changes me by burdening my heart to pray for them, increasing my trust in them so that I share more of my life with them. I am encouraged by them and feel equipped to encourage others.
In the same way, I want to approach a more consistent habit of reading, studying, and meditating on the Bible. The Bible isn’t a book of rules and laws; it isn’t a book of poems, or a book on history or helps to live a life pleasing to God. It includes these things, but it is, ultimately, a book about God – His words for us to hear. Every passage reveals more of who God is. Passages in Genesis, Job, and Psalms reveal Him as Creator. The gospels reveal Him as the Christ. We read of His love, His mercy, and His grace. We learn of His holiness, His justice, and His wrath. There is so much to learn!
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33 KJV
The more I learn who He is, the more intimate our friendship becomes. The more I know Him, the more I desire to please Him and live my life for Him. The more I learn about Him, the more I learn about myself. When I meditate on His perfections, I see my sinfulness in a right perspective. Comparing myself to others, I don’t come off quite so bad. However, when I see His holiness versus my sinfulness, I grasp more rightly the chasm that separates us. I see my desperate need for a Savior. After 60 years, sometimes I need to be reminded fully of what Christ has done for me. This understanding is what brings tears as I sing worship songs to God. It brings deeper meaning to worship.
When I see His compassion, I desire to be compassionate. When I see His love, true love, I see that love also means discipline. It’s more than reassurances or total agreement. His example enhances my understanding of true love.
We often take shortcuts by reading a passage and asking what it means for me. An example is reading that I need to forgive. A fuller meaning is when I read of how God forgave Israel over and over and understanding that He wants me to do the same because He forgives me over and over too. Or we become lopsided, thinking only of God’s love but not His justice. Too often we read bits and pieces, then we make God into who we think He is. We choose what we want to believe and ignore things we don’t.
God made us in His image. If we do not continue to learn what His word reveals about His infinite Being, we risk making Him into what our finite minds want Him to be. As our culture changes, we must read the Bible and stay grounded in Truth that never changes.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NASB
Just as Paul encouraged Timothy, we ought to be zealous to hear God say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” Matthew 25:21 KJV. That includes accurately reading and teaching God’s word, being careful to see what God is saying, listening to the Holy Spirit, and not reading into it what we want it to say.
“You have said, ‘Seek my face.’
My heart says to you,
‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.'” Psalm 27:8
Note: Inspiration for this blog came from reading Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin and re-reading Knowing God by JI Packer. I highly recommend both books.
