Chasing Wisdom by Daniel GrotheSample

As Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17 kjv, emphasis mine). As we hear the words of the Bible trumpeting forth—words like,

“Love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44) and “Bless those who curse you” (Luke 6:28)—the smoldering embers of our lukewarm lives are stoked into a blazing beauty. We get up early in the morning and, with the psalmist, rehearse what’s true: “For his love endures forever” (Ps. 136). We give ourselves over to the words of this Book and somehow know that the ruins of our lives are being rebuilt by the Master Craftsman. We, like little children, hear these words, write down these words, and take up these words on our lips. Yes, for the Christians, the Bible is our book, and we believe that in it all truth is to be found. As in Psalm 1:2, we are to “meditate” on these words, and as we do, our faith grows, wisdom deepens, and love expands. We cannot rehearse this story of the God who raised Jesus from the dead too much. . . .

Could God give us a special encounter with Jesus as we read Sports Illustrated or the newspaper? Sure. Could he awaken us to his glory as we read through the phone book? Of course. “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” (Ps. 115:3). But for some reason, more often than not, God the Son is most likely to meet us as we open the Bible. The words on these pages somehow become more than just words. By the power of the Spirit, they pulse with the life of God and bring us face-to-face with Jesus. And as we continually put ourselves in front of these words, with an attitude of openness and humility, God mysteriously acts upon us, transforming our motivations and attitudes, purifying our affections, and drawing us into himself. For over two thousand years, the church has asked, “Do you want to find God? Well, we’ll tell you where he can be found. Keep opening the Book.” The Bible is the place where Jesus can be encountered most often.