‘And this is my prayer:
“that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)
There is a real art to cooking. My bride rules the inside kitchen and I am in charge of grilling outside. But there are rules that apply to both venues.
The first one is the slower and lower, the better. The other is to prepare the meat properly before cooking. I have used various preparation sauces, different ones for different meats. Marinating is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. It is a technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid. The process can often take several hours or even overnight, but the end result from marinating and cooking slowly results in far better taste when done.
There is a spiritual parallel here. As we grow in the Word and in the Christian faith, growth takes time and it also calls for total immersion in the Word.
God is into marinating instead of microwaving. Too often Christians think they can give the word a casual and occasional quick view, say a quick prayer and be on their way. No wonder culture dictates our faith instead of our faith dictating culture.
Our salvation can begin in an instant, but spiritual growth takes time. We can read Christian books and listen to great sermons, but there is no substitute for being daily in the word and constantly in prayer mode.
When we are saturated in the Word, we gain a Word view to replace the worldview. When we are Bible literate, God gives us opinions and responses as to how to respond the situations and decisions the world hands us.
We are to be in the world but not of the world. It is not easy. In fact it is downright impossible without being immersed in the Word and spending great quantities of fellowship in pray with God. It is much more that just attending church on Sunday.
So take time to immerse yourself in the Word. Do it deliberately and regularly and the finished product will have a heavenly aroma.
(a thought on life from John Grant)
by John Grant
used by permission
FURTHER READING
• Growing Pains – A Devotional on Spiritual Growth
• Meditation for Spiritual Growth – A Devotional by Charles Spurgeon