My oldest brother, Jimmy, is eight years older than me. When he was in high school playing football, I idolized him. During his senior season, he fumbled the football a few times in the early portion of the season. Coach Williams decided to give Jimmy a lesson about holding on to the football that he would not forget. He required Jimmy to carry a football with him everywhere he went, 24 hours a day. This was to serve as a reminder to Jimmy, both consciously and subconsciously, about the importance of holding onto the football during a game. For Coach Williams, football was to be a top priority for his players. It was stated in a succinct philosophy. His players were to ‘eat, drink, and sleep football.’ He wanted football to be in their consciousness 24 hours a day.
God is a little bit like Coach Williams. When it comes to the focus of our lives, God wants us to be Kingdom-focused. Jesus said, “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.” Mike Cope has written a book entitled One Holy Hunger: When God Is All You Want. Hungering for God and His kingdom should be the passion of every Christian.
One of the ways that our hunger for God and His presence in our lives grows is through our consuming of His word. Certainly, we are a people who have been blessed with Bibles in our lives. I am sitting in an office where there are 20+ Bibles, in numerous translations. At home as well, there are multiple Bibles. Many who read this today can be seen on Sundays with your personal Bible tucked under your arm, strolling into church. BUT THE QUESTION FOR YOU TO ANSWER: DO I REALLY ‘HUNGER’ FOR THE WORD OF GOD IN MY LIFE?? It is not enough to own the most recent translation with concordance and maps and topical index.
My early morning routine, as I eat breakfast, is to consume the Abilene Reporter News. I begin with the Sports section, then the main section with world and local news, and finish off with the Life section. In a way, I hunger for it. I desire to begin my day with the news. DO YOU HAVE A DAILY HUNGER FOR ‘GOD’S WORD’? ARE YOU AS MOTIVATED AS I AM FOR THE SPORTS SECTION OF THE NEWSPAPER TO HEAR GOD SPEAKING TO YOU THROUGH HIS WORD? My prayer for you and me is that God’s word will become an indispensible part of our spiritual diets. May our philosophy become: I am going to ‘eat, drink, and sleep’ the kingdom of God. Hungering for God’s word in our lives is a good beginning place.
Prayer: ‘Father, create within me a ‘holy hunger’ for You. Help me prioritize my life and my days to include time for Your Word.’
Terry Brown
Abilene, Texas
No comments:
Post a Comment