Loving God's Word the Deuteronomy WaySample

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“This is no empty word for you, but your very life!” I have a clear memory of my college mentor, Joyce, balancing her Bible in one hand while placing her palm firmly on the cover and quoting this verse from Deuteronomy 32:47. She'd hold my gaze, speaking with confidence that one can only muster after having walked a lifetime with Jesus. Joyce shared not only the gospel of God, but she also shared herself in such a way that caused me to imitate both her and the Lord Jesus.

It's been over a decade since I saw Joyce every day, but I'm still learning from the way she knew and loved the Bible. She talked about it all the time, read it, studied it, memorized it, and prayed it fervently. Joyce genuinely loved and lived by God’s Word. And it showed—not only when she shared what she was learning but also in the way she did life and loved the people around her. Have you ever met someone who knows and loves their Bible like that?

When Joyce and I met, she listened to the hard things I was navigating, but we didn’t spend much time talking about my problems and how to fix them. Instead, we considered how God’s Word offers relevant and timely truths for all of life. We read it, asked questions, and looked for answers. Joyce taught me that the Bible is not a long book of rules telling us what to do. Rather, the Bible is the story of God rescuing and redeeming a people for Himself through Christ Jesus.

As we nestle ourselves in that grand story, we come to see who God is and what He’s done for us through His Son, Jesus. We also begin to understand just how much we need Jesus, what it means to trust Him for salvation, and how we ought to live in response to what He’s done for us. When we sit at the feet of Jesus in His Word, we begin to look more and more like Him! It is the only book that has the power to actually change us by judging the thoughts and intentions of our hearts (Heb. 4:12). This book, the Bible, is not meaningless to us, because in it, we find the abundant life that Christ offers, and we’re forever changed as a result. So, by it, we live.

Pray: Ask God to give you a heart that loves His Word and to help you walk in the light of its truths.