God is full of so much love for individuals in the world that He would rather let Jesus undergo the suffering of dying on a bloody cross than to be without those he saves for eternity. With this kind of devoted love from God, that should peak the interest in hearing what He has to say, yes?
Even though many have apprehended this reality, many who are aware of this put the word on the back burner. What God has spoken through His word, because of who he is alone, makes His words worth being read, studied, and applied!
What can we infer from John 6:46? It reads, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Can we expect God to take into consideration how we respond to His Lordship when He judges us at the end of time? We who hear God’s word and have confessed Jesus as Lord, should we not judge ourselves ahead of time in this life and answer with honesty the question “are we LIVING in proper response to His Lordship??”
In order to live according to His Lordship, we must know what God tells us about how to live in His Word. What should be said to a person who finds little pleasure in God’s word in this life? According to Psalm 119, King David spent 176 verses expressing his delight in God’s word. King David’s reflection on God’s works, precepts, commands, decrees, judgments, ordinances and the words God used to express Himself was one of affection, honor, and reverence. David’s approach inspires all who read it the same kind of delight and honor of God’s word.
Not in replacement of faith, but in combination with faith, certainly the element of obedience to the word must get factored into the measurement God will use to distinguish the people who belong to Him at the end of time from those who don’t. The only obedience to God that there IS in existence anywhere on the part of a person who says they follow God, is to obey God’s Word, the Bible, and not to follow merely the commands of men! Obedience is not the method of salvation, but obedience is found in every life where Jesus is truly Lord.
There is NO REPLACEMENT for reading or listening to the word of God! The more we know God’s word, the more His word will challenge us to obey Him, prompt us in our growth, and become a living part of us. We will be in awe of God because we will have made room in our hearts as Mary and Joseph sought a place to abide with Jesus in the Inn. Our hearts can easily become filled with the business this world offers, like the Inn that was full of other business as Mary and Joseph first found. Let us learn from the Biblical example given to us, and work at making room for Jesus to have a proper place through his word to be laid in our hearts! Let us prepare ourselves to have value for and affection for His word that shows His Lordship over us and that we belong to Him! LG
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