The challenge of growing in the Word

The Word of God is one of the delights of the Christian who longs to grow spiritually and live a life of abundance in Christ. It is not strange to see Christian brothers who, believing themselves confident in their salvation by having surrendered to Christ, neglect reading and meditating on the Word, thus ignoring the extraordinary teachings of God for their spiritual becoming in the always surprising adventure of faith. The Bible is to the Christian what wings are to the bird. Without wings you cannot fly, without the authority of the Word in the Christian life, it is impossible to walk; at least it will be a life full of stumbling blocks in which we will not be able to enjoy countless blessings, at the most, at worst, an aimless retreat, a ship without a compass. What son does not want to listen to the Father's advice so that he can do well in all his affairs?

One of the indelible marks of Christian growth is being a conscious lover of God's Word because it establishes a direct relationship between the believer and his Lord. Together with prayer, the Word is a divine and indispensable resource to confront sin ("In my heart I have kept your sayings, so as not to sin against you." Psalm 119: 11), spiritual anxiety, the causes of our weaknesses, stumbling blocks, but also joys and blessings. That is why Paul says that he is alive and effective… he judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12) and the Lord, through the prophet Jeremiah, affirms “Is not my word like fire, and like a hammer that pulverizes the rock?" (Jer 23.29).

The truth is that although our new nature in Christ gives us power in the Spirit, the teachings of the book of books confirm our spiritual birth through the word of truth: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God ”(1 Pet 1.23). The Apostle James confirms it: "By his own will he gave us birth through the word of truth, so that we might be like the first and best fruits of his creation" (James 1:18 NIV, author's underlining).

The Bible is full of exhortations on how we should act with the Word of God. Read it, scrutinize it, meditate on it, save it and put it into practice. To put the Word into practice is to do the will of the Father, it is to appropriate a promise that brings hope and security to the Christian and has to do with our present and future state before God and men: “Those who love your law enjoy great well-being, and nothing makes them stumble ”(Ps 119,165). In this verse the word love does not imply a simple invitation to a contemplative and passive attitude, but rather, it means that those who truly love it (the Word), put it into practice, obey it and as a consequence, enjoy a Christian life. in peace and well-being.

The Christian must base his life on the Word of God. This sounds a bit rhetorical, as it is nothing new; But what I have no doubt about is that perhaps this is God's greatest desire for his children. The problem is that we do not do it, we make a thousand excuses for not doing it, we hardly invest the time necessary to study it, meditate on it and put it into practice.

The Bible tells us of the times that the religious tried to deceive Jesus with difficult and embarrassing questions about the Torah. They longed to surprise him in any way that would show them that Jesus was breaking the so-called Law of Moses. To a question from the Sadducees about marriage and resurrection, (Matthew 22: 24-32) Jesus answered: “You are wrong because you do not know the Scriptures and the power of God” (Verse 29 NIV). This is a call for us; We can make mistakes as human beings, but that is not due to ignorance of the Scriptures. The Word helps us to grow, through it we know the will of God and God himself, we can understand the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary and the value that God's grace has poured into our lives. Searching for answers in God's Word empowers and encourages us. If we really feel like disciples of Christ, we have to go over and over to his Word. Time and dedication to the study of the Word and its application in daily life will define your level of maturity and spiritual growth. There are no complicated formulas for knowing God's will. It is totally up to you and me. He has already done his part: he died on a cross, he left us the Holy Spirit and his eternal Word. The mystery of the cross and the grace of Salvation cannot be understood humanly if we do not go to the Scriptures with a spirit of humility and prayer so that God reveals himself to us and manifests his Truth to us. That truth will transform our lives.

D. L. Moody used to say, "The Bible was not given to us to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives."

One of the most prolific Christian writers of our time correctly wrote: "It is possible to know the Word of God and not know the God of the Word."

It is a great truth. We can become experts in the knowledge of the Word, but the God of the Word is known only when we put it into practice in our lives. The application of the Word to our lives, enlivens our desire to be practical Christians, to resemble Christ more every day and to carry his message of redemption to the ends of the earth.

We must not forget that the world does not read the Word of God, but is constantly reading us and that is a challenge for spiritual growth, grounded in the eternal teachings of the Incarnate Word.

God bless you!