Wholly unprompted, a Creole song
from my childhood came to my mind on this fifteenth lenten morning. Translated into English, the words go like
this:
“Read your Bible,
pray every day, and you will grow.”
The song reminds me of days, long ago days, when I looked like one of the precious children below . . .
The song also brought to mind a time in my childhood when I desperately longed for a little buddy who would walk alongside me and encourage me to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Although as a 6-year old I did not
fully understand the kind of growth the song was promoting, the lyrics were
still used by God to move me to read His Word. I remember one Lenten season—I
was nine or ten at the time—when I could not clearly grasp the pastor’s
sermons. The above song would enter my brain and I would start reading from the
first chapter of Matthew proceeding all the way to Chapter 28. The stories,
parables, miracles present in the gospels, in general, kept me interested and
entertained. A list checker by trait, I kept the practice of reading long
passages at a time and praying dutifully to ensure growth each time I felt
unable to follow a particular sermon or even during my quiet time—reading for distance kept me craving only spiritual
milk.
Much later, a gifted Bible teacher
presented a concept to a group of men at a Promise
Keepers Conference in Pittsburgh, PA to the tune of “Go for depth, not
distance.” As He spoke, the little Creole tune came to mind and the words began
to take on a new meaning in my heart. The Holy Spirit revealed to me that
reading the Bible does not necessarily imply volume—taking in reams of chapters at a time; it could be just one verse,
one phrase, one word . . . upon which our meditation and prayer can be based,
and from which our spiritual growth can find its vital source—reading in depth drew me to yearn for solid
spiritual food.
I have since been encouraged by some dear brothers in the faith to allow myself periodically to choose as short a passage as possible and seek
to understand every facet of every word.
For example, Mark 1:17 reads,
"Come, follow Me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of
men."
I would ask God to bring to my mind as many synonyms or word
pictures as He wants for each word in the verse, consult a concordance, read a few commentaries, jot down some notes in my journal, and re-read the passage
with all those ideas in mind. I would then memorize and review it often in my
mind during the day—as I’m driving, waiting at a stoplight, walking, etc. The
Word becomes much richer and more meaningful to me. It causes me to find great
joy and respond with gratitude in my heart.
Have you, like I, ever found yourself reading the Bible for distance instead of depth?
Have you ever felt guilty for failing time and time again to finish your Bible reading plan?
Have you ever gone through a time of Bible reading and retained pretty much . . . nothing from the Word?
Lent calls us to give up the approach of reading the Bible as a list-checker. It invites us, instead, to expose our hearts to the X-radiating power of God's Word in order that we may be set ablaze and shining brightly for Christ through the transformative intake of the gospel of grace.
As we pray, might we think
of what Mark 1:17 means to us personally? In what ways can we come to
Jesus this minute, hour, day, or season? What does following Him look like in
our current circumstances? What does it mean to be “fishers of men” at home, at
work, or at play? Who is the buddy God has placed in our lives to encourage us in our growth in Christ? Who are some specific people God intends for us to disciple?
May we be aware of God’s power strengthening and growing us into His likeness!
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