Why Do I Crave It?

Sometimes I am reminded how much I love the Word of God.  I pick up a book that references scripture and I am amazed at how much I crave God's Word.  I write it down, I read it and reread the same scripture.  If it really resonates in me, I will read that same passage all week long or maybe even longer.  I will read it to my husband, I will reference it when I speak to the church or to my Pastor or friends.  I love it when that happens.  

What is this desire for God's Word?  

Why do I crave it?

I think this began in me many years ago when I was a little girl.  I attended an A.C.E. school at our church. A.C.E. stands for Accelerated Christian Education. Scripture memorization was a huge part of that education.  It was right up there with Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.  We memorized whole chapters of John, Philippians, Ephesians...yes, whole chapters.  Not that I can still quote them all but I can quote some.  To be honest, I didn't look into what the scriptures meant as a 2nd grader but in memorizing them, something was planted in me.  I now knew the words of God and I couldn't un-know them.  I knew the commandments, the grace, what God hates and how He loves the little children.  

Teaching the nursery kids...they made Samson hair.
So much fun.

As I have grown older, the desire to know God deeper and know what His Word means is an unquenchable thirst.  The more I get, the more I want.  So I have Bible Study on my own, I listen to my Bishop and Pastors preach, I write it down, I talk about it, I search it out and attempt to apply it's wisdom to my life (my daily living).  

Our wonderful Creator didn't leave us down here on our own.  He didn't make us and drop us like a hot potato.  When he created Adam and Eve, he walked and talked with them in the cool of the evening. Bonding with them.  I am sure, giving His wisdom about how things worked.  Knitting His heart with theirs.  When I read the Bible, I can sense God walking with me, leading me, teaching me, inserting bits of wisdom that can only come from Him, into my life.  This isn't always a pleasant experience.  It can be a humbling, soul searching, flesh destroying mirror that I cannot escape.  But He never leaves it there.  Where I am broken, He remolds me...making me new.  He heals me, renews me, restores what I have lost.  No it's not immediate, but it is perfect.  

I believe that is why I crave this wonderful gift of God's Word or at least one of the reasons.  So teachers, preachers, parents, caregivers...don't give up on the power of the scripture you are teaching. Once those little minds memorize it, it's in there. Even if they turn away from it, it will remain.   Matthew 24:35 says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

So I will continue to study the Word of God.  Getting to know Him, love Him deeper, hopefully becoming more like Him each day.  As I fill up on His Word, my children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, all I come into contact with will see a little more Jesus and a lot less Kimi.  Believe me, that is a good thing.

This is why it matters so much to me...