The Life-Giving Power of the Word Part 2

 

God's Word is our spiritual food, having the power to sustain us and revive us, in the same way that the physical food that we eat gives us strength.

Jesus compared God’s Word to bread: “But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”’” (Matthew 4:4).  Although some days we may not want to read God’s Word, I believe it is an important discipline, because it gives us life. How many times to you skip out a meal simply because you don’t feel like eating? Or how many times do you forgo feeding yourself because you are too busy to take time away? Oh, you may have missed a meal or two, but you usually make it up with snacks or an extra big meal later. It should be the same way with the Word of God. Because of the nutrients that it gives us, we should not let anything distract us from it.

Paul writes in 1 Peter 2:2 about how God’s Word is to us like milk: “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”  Have you ever watched a hungry baby? She will cry, throw fits, and refuse any consolidation until she gets her food. Her single-minded purpose is that food. So strong is her desire for it that it is her only waking occupation. This is how it should be with us as Christians. We should desire these life-giving nutrients, as a deer pants for the water, not giving up until we achieve our purposes. We need the Word of God for our very life. Yet how often do we miss opportunities to draw from its sparkling fountains!

The word “desire” in the Greek means “to have a yearning desire for” or “to long after.” Our heart should be drawn to the Word, in such a way that we do not want to leave it. It should be our passion. When we desire something, it is constantly on our thoughts, and every time we are not with it, we wish we were.

When comparing God’s Word to the food that we eat, it is important to remember that just as we chew and digest our physical food, we must properly digest the Word of God. By meditating on the Word and memorizing it, we can really glean from Scripture and receive the nutrition it can give us. It must become part of us. Then, as it nourishes us, it will change us, the same way our food can change our physical appearance (just picture in your head the starving children in Africa, and you’ll see what I mean).

So, if we were to measure our intake of the Word of God by food standards, would you be healthy –or starving? Do you long for the Word the way a baby longs for its mother’s milk? Are we taking the time to feed our spiritual body, which will live forever? Let us examine our lives in light of these words, and choose life.