“He replied, ‘Yes, but even more blessed are all who hear the Word of God and put it into practice’” (Luke 11:28)
If you and I could know only one rule that would guarantee us real happiness, no doubt this should be it. Because the meaning of this promise is the same in or out of context, we shall share briefly the out – of – context guarantee contained therein.
Mankind’s chief happiness – his, or her, highest honor – is to obey the Word of God. No earthly honor or achievement can compare with the blessing, meaning in and fulfillment that come from obeying the Word and Will of God.
Implicit in putting into practice – or obeying – the Word of God is the matter of knowing the Word of God. This, of course, implies reading, studying, meditating upon and even memorizing the Scriptures. If we are neglecting this phase of the Christian life, we are omitting a vitally important part of spiritual nurture, without which it is impossible to live a supernatural life.
Something about the Word refreshes, cleanses, uplifts the heart and soul of each one of us when we spend time in its pages. God made it – and us – that way. No matter how many times we may have read the Word of God, even the entire Bible, there is something remarkably fresh and new about it every time we read it.
If somehow we lack the discipline to do what we should about the Word, we may pray ceaselessly for the Holy Spirit to illumine its truths to our minds and apply them to our lives.
By Dr. Bill Bright
Used by Permission
Further Reading
• How to be a Friend to an Immigrant
• Love is Patient and Kind – a story of a man on a bus
• Salvation Explained