Reading is Not Enough
Psalm 119:11 reminds us of something very important:
“I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.”
It’s a new year. Some people are gearing up for New Year / New Me while others are shying away from the sentiment, knowing they won’t make it past Valentine’s Day, or maybe they just don’t like the pressure of a New Year’s resolution. Who knows.
What I do know is I’m seeing a record number of people committing to daily Bible Reading come across my news feed and that’s exciting!
The Word of God is so powerful and remarkable, anyone who commits to reading it will be changed. Period. Daily devotions are a simple and mandatory part of the daily spiritual diet for the believer in Christ to live and thrive.
Coupled with prayer, daily ingestion of the Word is literally one of the foundation blocks of growing in Christ.
However, too often we get caught in the trap of thinking simply reading the Word is sufficient. We mark off our “quiet time” every morning like so many notches on our spiritual belts, then go about our daily lives feeling as though the mere reading of the word is actually the goal of its ingestion. While noble and good, simply reading the Word is only the beginning.
Ephesians 5 and Romans 12 give us a very different picture of the purpose of the Word. Paul tells the saints at Ephesus that Christ loves the church and desires to “to make her holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word.”
In Romans 12 we see the goal for our walk is the “renewing of our minds.”
Neither text allows us to stop at simply reading the word; simply having a quiet time is not the end game: obeying and being transformed by what we read, that is the goal.
If we simply read and never obey, we have engaged in religious activity that falls short of the intent of the discipline. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have full confidence in the ability of the Word of God to transform the hearts of those who only approach its consumption as part of their daily routine, but I also know the power of the Holy Spirit and how much He is capable of when we approach the Holy Writ with an attitude of humility and a desire to let it change us.
So, this New Year, endeavor to do more than read everyday, purpose in your heart to OBEY what you read. Purpose in your soul to allow the rich depths of the text to mold, shape, break, refine, and change the very core of who you are.
Don’t just read, obey.
