Engage God’s Word

Do you remember as a kid knowing that some houses were okay to play in and some, well, were not? Maybe you had a family member whose house was full of fancy (a.k.a breakable) treasures, and it was your job to “look with your eyes and not with your hands.” But then there were those whose houses were intended to be explored, enjoyed, and lived in. Tracking mud in didn’t cause alarm, and you may have even gotten away with jumping off the couch from time to time.

Sometimes reverence for Scripture can swing us so far that we adopt “museum rules” for how we engage with and experience God’s Word. We have appropriate awe and respect for God’s self-revelation, but enjoyment and transformation seem out of reach. But God has chosen to make Himself known to us through Scripture for the sake of relationship with Him. Through His Word, He invites us to know Him and experience life together with Him. His story beckons us into it, to take it on as our own. And as we seek to engage His Word, the beautiful truth of the Trinity comes to life: God reveals Himself in His story through His Son as His Spirit helps us understand, empowers us to obey, and walks with us as we grow in Him.

When Israel was preparing to enter the promised land, God gave them instructions regarding their relationship with Him and each other, and at the center was His Word.

These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
—Deuteronomy 6:6–7

God’s expectation for His people was that His Word would be integral to their daily life, and His call is the same for us. There are so many ways we can incorporate Scripture through our regular rhythms and daily habits—meditating on a psalm before falling asleep, memorizing a passage together as a family over months of meals, studying a passage we want to understand better with a friend, reading through a book of the Bible a couple chapters at a time. All of these are ways to engage with Scripture and engage with God. Over time, our habits transform us, hopefully more into the image of Jesus, and we in turn shape those under our care in the same way for generations to come.

There is so much joy to be found in engaging God’s Word. He wants us to come with expectation because He promises that His Word is just what we need to know Him and follow Him. The Bible is one unified story that shows us God’s redemption of the world through His Son and how we can be a part of His kingdom. It demands all of us, but it promises full redemption in Him. Praise be to God!