Late last night, in honor of "Reformation Day", I sat down with my wife's family and watched the movie "Luther", which from all I can tell is a pretty accurate account of Dr. Martin Luther's role in reforming the Christian Church. It's the second time I've seen the movie, but the second viewing certainly hit home far more than the first.
I think the main reason for this is that I've read the Bible more in the past year than probably every other year of my life combined, and my love for the scriptures has seldom been as consistently high as it has in 2009. Yes, there's still books of the Bible I haven't read, but I have had an unprecedented desire to hunt for truth, to seek counsel and understanding from God, to be affected by His Word.
So when I watched "Luther", it really hit me to realize the cost Christians before us have paid for this book, that we might have the opportunity to read the Holy Scriptures for ourselves, to not have to depend on the interpretations of Priests who may not have even studied the Scriptures themselves, but to study the God-Breathed scriptures with my own eyes. Countless great men of faith gave their lives for this Book.
So what has happened in our time? What did men like Luther see and feel and know that we don't? Why do most Christians in America today own 5 Bibles and read none of them? Why do most Christians lack a strong Biblical understanding of what the Bible actually says about life issues? When we counsel one another, why is it not saturated with Scripture? Why do we not tremble with humility and reverence before the Word of God?
One possibility is that we are not truly a Christian. We must test ourselves:
"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" - 2 Cor 13:5
However, if we are truly saved by our Father-- that is if we have placed our faith and hope for salvation and life in Christ alone and not in ourselves-- then there must be other reasons why we don't devote ourselves to scripture the way we ought, and why our hearts don't yearn for it more than anything in this world.
So here's the point: I want to desire God's Word far more than I do now, and I want my brothers and sisters in Christ to love God's Word, too. For the next couple of weeks I'm going to dig into why it's important for us to read the Bible in hopes that not only my desire will grow, but that I would also be able to persuade and encourage many others to make Bible study a significant and passionate part of their lives.
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2 comments:
You and Kerry put us to shame as far as faithful Bible study, and it has struck us too how much we take for granted with our religious freedom in this country. The Bible is the least read bestseller in the country. We have a woeful lack of appreciation for what our forefathers and mothers went through to bequeath us this freedom. Similarly, I've been struck with what people in the "persecuted churches" around the world go through and risk to stay faithful to their belief in Christ.
I appreciate and am thankful for your passion, even if I fall short of that by far! Mom
Some people find it difficult to get all Godly stuffs all at the same place and also at the affordable price. You can now have an online Church Supply Store from where you can purchase Bibles, Meditation Music, Jewelries, Holy Chanting Songs, DVDs, CDs and much more at very affordable price.
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