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"The
Word Becoming Life"
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Imagine a woman working
as a cook in a restaurant. She cooks dozens of meals every day, smells the
sweet aromas, knows all the ingredients. People indulge in her cooking and
she knows it. Her hands handle the frying pan all day and when she goes
home her clothes smell of it. There’s only one problem with this poor lady
– she does not eat any of it! Because of this, the food she’s
around all day does not become life to her. She is dying slowly. Sadly,
this is the same experience of many Christians.
The bible often compares
the word of God to food.
Jesus said, “the words
that I give you are Spirit and they are life.” (Jn 6:63). Were they life
to Judas Iscariot? They were definitely life as Jesus spoke them, but did
that life enter into Judas? It didn’t. If it did then he wouldn’t have
sold our Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was like the woman with
anorexia – he was around food all day, but it did not become life to him
and he died.
The woman of our story is
like that of many Christians. They know the word inside and out, they can
quote it and even preach it! They are actively serving God. But they have
not eaten the word. It hasn’t become life to them.
To the Christian, the word
becomes life to you when it transforms your life in some way – it changes
your character into the image of Christ, and it draws you near to your
Father in Heaven. It becomes life to you when it is applied, not
just learned. The word becomes life when you do it, not just
when you hear it.
Here’s a practical
example: you read the verse Hebrews 4:16 "Therefore let us draw near
with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help in time of need.” You spend some time meditating on
it – thinking deeply about it, asking God questions. What are my times of
need? What does it mean to draw near to the throne? Then it hits
you! During your few moments of temptation, you can offer up prayers to
God for grace – “God, help me now, I can’t overcome this trial without
you.” And God will meet you there. From here on out you are determined to
reach out to God in all your times of need. You are excited to try this
out and overcome those sins which arise so frequently simply by crying out
to God in your time of need. Has this word become life to you yet? The
answer is that you don’t know because you haven’t ‘done’ anything with it
yet! But the next day when you are commuting to work, your patience is
tested as someone cuts you off and you remember Hebrews 4:16. You quickly
say to the Lord, “God grant me patience so that I can honor you.” NOW
THE WORD HAS BECOME LIFE TO YOU.
The word becomes life to
you when you put in the work to meditate on scripture, when the Holy
Spirit speaks to you, and when it has transformed you. Seek to
dwell on the word of God and gain life from it. Eat God’s word and
desire to be transformed by it.
In "His" Service
Bro. Roy
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