"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12
I'm reading the life of Saint Teresa of Avila, a 16th century nun who received amazing graces from the Lord during prayer. On one occasion, as she prayed, she heard the Lord tell her how few people truly love Him, and how to love Him is to meditate on and take into one's heart the message of Sacred Scripture. Obviously this got me thinking about the bible and how I need to read it a lot more. A couple of years ago, my bible would have been on a shelf collecting dust. If Christ measures how much we love Him according to the value we give to His word, then He would have been right, I didn't love Him, and even now, I don't love Him enough.
We really don't realize the gift we have in the bible, the story of our salvation history, the way in which God, time after time, manifested Himself to His people for our benefit. In it we have amazing stories of survival, war, courage, strength, mystery, betrayal, loss, but best of all, love. Countless movies have been made on biblical figures like Moses, David, and of course, Jesus, but most of us never bother to use our bibles for anything other than decor. The best part about it, as this verse from Hebrews says, is that the Word of God is alive and active. I can tell you of so many times in which I've opened to a passage and felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me at that moment for the exact intention I had in my heart. These messages I send are a testament to that power that is found in the bible! Therefore, I encourage you today to get your bibles, dust it off and start reading. Open up Exodus and learn about how God heard the cry of His people and saved them by sending a stuttering shepherd, Moses, to free them. Read Kings and learn about the prophet Elijah, who called upon God when he was tested by false prophets and the Lord ignited a great fire before them all. Read Song of Songs and listen to the most beautiful love poems ever written, and best of all, open up to one of the gospels, John for example, and read about the love of God for you,.. how it's His plan to save you, to comfort you, because He sees your hardships and is so near to you in your sufferings. Open up the Word of God today and listen to what He has to say to you and how He plans to guide you in the story of your life.
Today's Prayer:
Lord, through Your holy prophets You have continually reminded us of Your love for us. You have given us hope, strength, and courage to endure anything and have provided great examples of faith, such as Jeremiah, Daniel, Stephen, and Paul, to guide us on our journey to You. You have laid it all out in front of us, now give us the wisdom and perseverance to open Your Word and listen to Your message. In Your Name we pray, amen.
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