Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Loving God's Word
Psalm 119:97-104
Dr. Priya Thomas
St. Johns MTC, NY
97 Oh, how I love your
law! It is my meditation all day long.
Being a new mother has been overwhelming and exciting at the same time. The highlight of my motherhood so far has been singing the song “I have decided to follow Jesus” to my little 2 month old for the first time. Her eyes lit up, she “cooed” and “ahhed” to the song like she was singing along. I have sung that song to my little girl countless times in the last month.
In today’s passage, the psalmist talks about his love for the word of God. I imagine his excitement like that of my little baby girl and he is “cooing” and “ahhing” about the sweetness of God’s precepts. It is his first thought when he wakes up in the morning, and his last when goes to bed. He meditates on it all day. He delights in it! How about us? John Piper once said in a sermon “Where your treasure is - your desire, your delight, your beauty - there will your heart be also - and your evenings and your Saturdays and your money” How often do we actually make a concerted effort to spend some time in the Word of God? When we truly fall in love with the word of God, it will become a crucial part of our daily lives.
Loving the word of God brings wisdom that is unlike what the world offers. Vs. 98 “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies” Verse 99 “I have more insight than all my teachers”. There is tremendous emphasis on getting “wisdom” from formal education today. Often our notion is that it is the responsibility of some profession or some institution to impart to us wisdom. Godly wisdom is beyond the number of degrees or titles we may have. It gives us practical knowledge to gain happiness and understanding.
A recent New York Times article addressed the increasing number of physicians’ committing suicide. A profession where you spend years amassing knowledge and yet leaves you without discerning wisdom in life’s stressful situations. Abundance of knowledge or years of education does not necessarily lead to happiness. Godly wisdom leads to life and ultimate joy and it begins with loving the word of God.
Being a new mother has been overwhelming and exciting at the same time. The highlight of my motherhood so far has been singing the song “I have decided to follow Jesus” to my little 2 month old for the first time. Her eyes lit up, she “cooed” and “ahhed” to the song like she was singing along. I have sung that song to my little girl countless times in the last month.
In today’s passage, the psalmist talks about his love for the word of God. I imagine his excitement like that of my little baby girl and he is “cooing” and “ahhing” about the sweetness of God’s precepts. It is his first thought when he wakes up in the morning, and his last when goes to bed. He meditates on it all day. He delights in it! How about us? John Piper once said in a sermon “Where your treasure is - your desire, your delight, your beauty - there will your heart be also - and your evenings and your Saturdays and your money” How often do we actually make a concerted effort to spend some time in the Word of God? When we truly fall in love with the word of God, it will become a crucial part of our daily lives.
Loving the word of God brings wisdom that is unlike what the world offers. Vs. 98 “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies” Verse 99 “I have more insight than all my teachers”. There is tremendous emphasis on getting “wisdom” from formal education today. Often our notion is that it is the responsibility of some profession or some institution to impart to us wisdom. Godly wisdom is beyond the number of degrees or titles we may have. It gives us practical knowledge to gain happiness and understanding.
A recent New York Times article addressed the increasing number of physicians’ committing suicide. A profession where you spend years amassing knowledge and yet leaves you without discerning wisdom in life’s stressful situations. Abundance of knowledge or years of education does not necessarily lead to happiness. Godly wisdom leads to life and ultimate joy and it begins with loving the word of God.
Prayer: Lord,
Help us to love your word and cherish it. Help us to desire wisdom that comes
from you. Open our eyes that we may truly gain understanding. Amen.
Thought for the day: "The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One
is understanding" Proverbs 9:10