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Many find the teachings of God’s word distasteful. Unwilling to bring their lives into conformity with the will of God, they reject His teaching and follow after their own desires. The apostle Paul warns of such in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 where he writes, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” Could these words be any more accurate in describing modern society?
Jesus says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). We must live by God’s word or we will die unprepared to face a judgment based on its standard (John 12:48). When Jesus spoke of living by the word of God, He was speaking about spiritual rather than physical sustenance. In this regard, Christians should resemble “newborn babes” who “long after the pure milk of the word” (1 Pet. 2:2). In the Scriptures, we are provided with the “wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ” (2 Tim. 3:15). But, this word must be taken into the heart. Only then, will it produce faith and lead us to salvation.
Yet, we must hasten to add this caveat: God’s word can only produce its desired result when we put it into practice in our daily lives. This is the end result of Paul’s exhortation to let Christ’s word richly dwell in our hearts (Col. 3:16). Isn’t it about time for us to truly appreciate God’s word for what it is – food for the soul?
Glen Elliott
Greenbrier church of Christ
Greenbrier, AR