Doers of the Word
By Sarah Walker
By Sarah Walker
My
husband and I had given our two-year-old son a simple direction at lunchtime: Eat
the chicken that is on your plate. Rather than following our instructions, he
proceeded to interrogate us. He pointed to the meat on his plate.
“This
chicken?”
“Yes,
that is the chicken you need to eat.”
“Rest
of chicken there?”
He
pointed to the container where the rest of the chicken was. This was shortly
followed by his informing us that the container was where we had gotten the
chicken on his plate, and then noting that the container had previously been in
the refrigerator.
Upon
the conclusion of his assessment, we instructed him once again to eat his
chicken. Rather than being satisfied with understanding the origins of his
lunch, he next remarked that his brother had chicken on his plate, as well.
This was followed by an analysis of the temperature of the chicken (it was
cold) and a sensory exam to feel the chicken. We proceeded to tell him that we
didn’t care where the chicken came from, who else had it, or what it felt like.
We cared about his following our instructions and actually eating the piece of
meat.
As
comical as this real-life story is, I can’t help but wonder how often we do
this to God. How often has God given us something to do, and rather than doing
it, we talk about it or do something else that is related to what God has told
us to do… but we don’t ever actually do the main instruction?
The
sole purpose of the Bible is not to be read, studied or even memorized. Those
are all good things to do and will indeed be of great aid to us in our daily
walk with Jesus. But that is not the primary goal of the Bible. The Bible
contains God’s instructions for living. We are asked to read the Bible, not for
the sake of reciting it or adding to our head knowledge, but we are to read it
in order to be transformed by it and then to live our lives according to the
instructions found in it. We are meant to read the Bible in order to learn the ways
of God, but we need to apply - - or follow - - these instructions in our daily
lives.
Go
ahead and eat!
GOING
DEEPER:
1. How are you using the Bible?
2. Is there something God is asking you to do that you need to put into action? If so, do it.
1. How are you using the Bible?
2. Is there something God is asking you to do that you need to put into action? If so, do it.
Sarah
is married to Scott and is a full-time mom to their two young sons. She and
Scott are involved in a small group focused on prayer.
