by Riley Nelson
A
steady diet of the word of God will help us to realize our need for God in our
lives more each day. It will also help
us come to realize our responsibility to “feed” the starving masses with this
same word. We will yearn to fulfill the
words of Christ, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19, 20a). It will also better equip us to “fear God and
keep His commandments…” (Ecc. 12:13).
When we are constantly feeding upon God’s word, we should be filled with
the desire to serve God faithfully.
The
apostle Peter wrote, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word,
that ye may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2).
The people to whom Peter was writing had been and were suffering from
persecution. They needed strength, both
from the word of God and from other Christians.
Peter serves as a perfect example of a Christian who knew how to encourage
and uplift others.
Desiring
the word is something that must last our entire lifetime. Many times older people simply stop eating,
and before long their body gives up, for lack of nourishment. The same can be true in the spiritual
sense. Some Christians forget this fact
and in their later years lose sight of their goal. They fail to partake of the words of life and
just as the dying body turns cold, so does their zeal for God.
Parents
desire that their children have the right food so that proper growth occurs. It is also important that children of God
feed upon the proper food. Home Bible
study should happen every day, this way the parents know their children are
being fed spiritual food. Sadly some
parents rely on “Bible Study” classes to do all their work. The best teacher in the world cannot plan,
water, and fertilize in the forty minutes or so they have a child in class, it
takes work by the parents to encourage and help children learn the Bible.
This
spiritual food will help them to realize their responsibilities as
Christians. It will help them fulfill
the great commission, to go and teach others.
It is such a shame when it is said of Christians, as the Hebrew writer
described in Hebrews 5:12-14, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers,
ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the
oracles of God…”
The
Bible needs to be used as a lamp. The
Psalmist recorded in Psalm 119:105, 130 the following, “Thy word is a lamp unto
my feet, and a light unto my path. The
entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding to the
simple.” If we will let the word of God
light our path we will find life easier to bear. Look about us at how those of the world spend
their time worrying about tomorrow, looking for peace and never finding
it. Many end up never truly happy. The one who is wise enough to allow his path
to be lit by the word of God will come to know true peace and happiness, and will
not spend hours and days worrying about things.
The light of God’s word will bring one to salvation. It shows bright upon the love God has for
man; it enables man to break the darkness of sin and worldliness and to see
clearly the way to a better life. It
tells of God’s plan for man’s redemption through Christ. The book of Acts tells how the people
developed faith by God’s word (Rom. 10:17).
They then repented of their sins, willing to confess the name of Christ
as the Son of God, and were immersed in water for the forgiveness of their sins
(Acts 2:22-47, 8:36-39). This great lamp
shines on the path to be taken by the Christian. (Colossians 3:1-17).
~Riley Nelson
Bio: Riley Nelson currently preaches for the
Richmond Hill church of Christ in Richmond Hill, GA just south of
Savannah. He has labored there for 23 years. He and his wife, Susie, have been married 35 years and have two sons and one grandson.
