People of the Word

It's amazing to me how similarly two people begin to think & act when
they spend a lot of time together. It happens gradually over a long time.

People of the Word

Since I am on sabbatical, for a few weeks, we are featuring devotions from a few guest writers. This week's devotions are written by my son-in-law, Jeffrey Samplaski, Student & College Pastor at Great Hills Baptist Church.

My wife and I just celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. (It is a good thing that I have a gracious wife, because, well, let's just say I am not good at remembering dates.) It is amazing to me how similarly two people begin to think and act when they spend a lot of time together. Now, I consider myself to be a pretty quiet and reserved person. I am in my sweet spot when I am just sitting back, listening, and observing. On the other hand, my wife, though she is a pretty reserved person too, will break out into song at any given moment during the day. (Most of the time, it's some Disney song.) It is actually quite funny, because most of the time, she doesn't even notice it. When Hannah and I first got married, I vividly remember waking up one morning, walking into our living room, stumbling around with sleep still in my eyes, when my wife pranced into the living room singing the "Frozen" theme song. Like two peas in a pod, right?

Early on in our marriage, waking up "bright eyed and bushy tailed" was a foreign concept to me. But it's funny, as I mentioned above, how when you spend large amounts of time with someone, you begin to take on some of their characteristics. Now, this happens gradually, over a long period of time. As the years have passed in our marriage, Hannah and I have both caught each other thinking alike, finishing each other's sentences, and yes, I even caught myself singing just yesterday morning... before my morning cup of coffee, moreover!

2 Timothy 3:16-17 is an amazing text that articulates the sufficiency of the Bible, God's Word. It says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

God has graciously revealed Himself and His redemptive plan to us through the Bible. The Bible is also infused with the Spirit of the Living God, and it always accomplishes that which God created it to accomplish. As we see in 2 Timothy, Scripture is "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." If you really think about this passage in connection to other similar passages, one of the primary purposes of the Bible is to conform believers into the image of the Son, Jesus. Plainly put, as Christian's spend high-quality time meditating on, memorizing, and studying the Bible, the Spirit of God works to make us look more and more like Jesus.

Think about it: as we study the Bible, our minds begin to think more in line with how God thinks. As we begin to think like God thinks, we begin to feel like God feels. When we begin to feel like God feels, we begin to act as God acts. Now, as I mentioned earlier, this happens gradually over a long period of time. Being a people of the Word is hard work! It may require sacrificing some things in order to make time for Bible intake. That is why it is called a Spiritual "discipline"! But, as we grow in conformity to Christ through the Spirit-infused Word of God, we will see that in comparison to knowing God, we really haven't made much of a sacrifice at all!