Throughout the course of my blog, I've been posting entirely about the beauty of creation and the power of the Creator. Today I'm going to transition a little bit into the Word of the Creator, the Bible, and it's affect on our personal lives.
I recently interviewed a fellow college student about various ways in which the Word of God has affected his life. His name is Levi Messer, he is in his Junior year, and is majoring in Pastoral Studies. Levi desires to one day receive a masters degree in Seminary, and from there move into a full time ministry position. I've recorded a few of the questions below, with the desire that you would be able to see how the Bible affects the human life.
First, I asked Levi if being at Bible College had changed his outlook on personal devotions in any way. His response was this: "While here at college, I've learned that my devotions are a lot more than reading a chapter a day. It's consistent time in God's Word so that you can apply it directly to your own life. It's about personal worship."
"It's a time to pray."
I followed this question up by asking him if he thought that spending time in God's Word was really impacting his life... if it was making a difference.
He chuckled... and then replied with a question of his own. Looking at me, he quietly asked, "Do you play an instrument?"
I replied that I did. "For how long?"
I told him I had been playing for almost 13 years.
"Okay," he said, "so lets look at this from the angle of a musician. If you spend time practicing your violin everyday, overtime you notice an improvement in your ability. If you periodically miss days throughout the week, you perhaps become a little frustrated because your competence of that instrument isn't going anywhere. Finally, if you don't practice at all, eventually you completely lose your ability to play that instrument."
I could see where he was going with this now.
"It's the same way with your personal devotions", he stated. "When you read your Bible everyday, your grow in your knowledge of God and his word, increasing your understanding of the Bible day by day. If you are frequently missing devotions throughout the week, your competence of God and His Word will be very shaky. Finally, if your not in God's word at all, you will completely lose your desire for Him, and the Bible. Therefore, I can say that spending time in God's Word has a massive impact on your personal life."
I enjoyed his illustration. On a whim, I asked him what he thought his life would be like without the Bible.
For a few seconds, he sat in silence. I could tell he was trying to think through scenarios in his life where he would have made different choices without the presence of God's Word in his life.
After a little while he looked up. "That's almost impossible to imagine. If I did not have the Bible in my life, I would have no knowledge of God."
"No purpose."
"Nothing to live for. My life would be drastically different."
After thanking Levi for his time and watching him exit the room, I thought to myself...
How would my life be different without the Word of God? It is so powerful, so convicting, so full of instruction, that it shames me to think of what I would be without it.
And then I think...how am I changing my life after reading it? Am I letting it impact me? Convict me?
The Word of God is incredibly powerful. No matter how busy, tired, or bone-dead exhausted you are throughout your day...never choose to neglect it.
Let it impact you. Convict you.
Let it change you!
