Sometimes we view reading God’s Word as an unbelievable bore, another chore to do after we vacuum the living room but before we clean the bathroom.
We focus on the fact that we have to read the Bible. We’re commanded to read the Bible, but we find no delight in it. Instead, it’s strictly duty.
While it’s true that we do have to read the Bible, wise Christians have offered another perspective.
You don’t just have to read the Bible. You get to read the Bible.
God is good, and his Word is good, and we should delight in him. It’s a privilege and a joy to read his Word. “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
This is a true and better perspective.
But there is another angle I’ve been considering lately.
It’s the fact that, we don’t just have to, we don’t just get to, we need to read God’s Word.
Like drinking water, for example.
It’s all well and good for a child to say to his sibling, “You have to drink water. Mommy said so.” It’s all well and good for a mother to say to her child, “There are people who lack access to clean water all over the world. You’re lucky that you get to drink water.”
But it’s something else entirely when we look at the facts and see that if you don’t drink water, you die.
It’s a stark reality, but it’s simple. You need water.
It’s the same with Christians and spiritual disciplines.
Yes, we have to read the Bible. Yes, we get to read the Bible. But more than that, we need to read the Bible. There is an urgency that our sinful soul demands. If we want to grow and produce more fruit and become more like Jesus, the disciplines are the tools the Spirit uses to sanctify us.
We can’t afford to neglect them! Our spiritual growth depends on it.
Maybe today you’re struggling. You don’t feel like reading the Bible and so you think that maybe you shouldn’t.
Please don’t give into that excuse.
Yes, we should fight for delight and joy in reading God’s Word… but sometimes we need to read it simply because we know we need to read it. We know we’ll be nourished and blessed by it. We know it will show us more of God and expose more of our sin.
The Word is living water, more precious than even physical water, and necessary for our spiritual growth.
Today, you need it.