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Have you wondered why we have Bible Classes each Sunday and Wednesday even- ing? Or why preaching of the Word of God is so essential to our Sunday worship? Or why the Lord encourages us to read and study the Bible daily (Psa. 1:2)? It is because Bible study is a faith growing event. Rom 10:17, States, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
If the “hearing,” that is getting the word of Christ into our heads and acting positively upon it, produces faith; shouldn’t the Christian be more diligent with spending time with God and His word? Who reading this article can say they have enough faith? Isn’t our faith being challenged each and every day? Are we not bombarded by sin and “hearing” things that do not produce faith?
Ephesians 6:16 reminds, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Notice again how essential faith is, not only does God’s word produce faith, but it helps us overcome our sin!
Seeing how necessary growing our faith is; why would we as a Christian want to neglect an opportunity to spend time reading and studying God’s word? Why do we let the TV, ball games, or other self-interest prevent us from daily Bible study and the services of the
church? Are these things more important than spending time with the Almighty? Can the TV help us get to Heaven? Can sports draw us closer to God and help us grow our faith? Can anything else whether it be jobs, family, hobbies, or other self-interest help us deepen our relationship with God, like the word of Christ?
How important is growing our faith to us? What are we spending more time with, things of this world or the things of God? What are we willing to do, sacrifice, or even give up to develop a stronger faith in Christ?
I wonder how do we compare to William McPherson? A dynamite charge blew up in his face. Damage was severe. He lost his hands. Part of his face was left numb. Realizing how much the Bible meant to him, he set out to find a way he could read it. Without hands he tried to use his lips to read Braille, but numbness made that impossible. He discovered he could use his tongue to decipher the Moon Type system of dashes. This method left his tongue bleeding and very sore, but he kept at it. Gradually it became easier and he learned to read. In sixty-five years he was able to read the Bible through four times with his tongue!.
The story of William McPherson makes it clear that we do what we want to do. The one who will not read, or study the Bible, and does not come to the services of the church has no advantage over the one who cannot read, or at least in the traditional way at Mr. McPherson illustrated. Think about it!
Mark T. Tonkery
Camden Avenue church of Christ
Parkersburg, WV