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Friends United Meeting |
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March 2001
Scripture and the Abiding Life in Christ
By Jason Nightingale
Little more than twenty years ago, my wife and I had three tiny children at home. We were poor in material things. The Lord had enabled me to memorize the first letter of John, and on that Wednesday evening, I had spoken it for the first time in a local church. Taking an offering in response to my presentation, we were given the entire amount--$27. I was feeling very good on the way home to my young family. We now had enough money for a few days of groceries, a little gasoline, and encouragement to continue in our ministry work. I stopped at the local grocery store and walked in, passing a man rummaging in the garbage can near the door.
I glanced at that man's back and hardly gave a thought to his condition. But I didn't take even five steps past him before the word of God, which I so recently and confidently preached, came rushing into my mind and stopped me in my tracks. "But if a man has enough to live on and yet when he sees his brother in need shuts up his heart against him, how can it be said that the divine love dwells in him? My children, love must not be a matter of words or talk, it must be genuine and show itself in action." (1 John 3:17-18). Deeply convicted of my lack of love and compassion, I turned around and shared some of our bounty with that needful man.
Later, as we talked about the evening, my wife and I thanked God that God had given us something to give, that we were given the opportunity to walk in a good deed ("For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10), and that in GodŐs faithfulness, God has given us His wonderful word. Without it, it would be virtually impossible for us to walk out our faith in a manner worthy of God's calling.
When God began revealing the divine word through Moses, God's people were commanded to do certain things with it and in relationship to it. God commanded we speak it, hear it, obey it, not add to it, not take away from it, write it down, not let it depart from our hearts all the days of our lives, make it known to our children and grandchildren, talk of it when we sit in our houses and when we walk by the way and when we lie down and rise up. We should bind it upon our bodies and write it on our hands and on the doorposts of our houses and on our gates. We are to saturate our lives with this word, keeping it before our eyes, in our hearts, in our ears, filling our hearts to overflowing so that it will be upon our lips and that we might fear the Lord our God and live in joyful obedience all the days of our lives so that it may be well with us and that we might multiply greatly. Everyone high and low is to have the word of God before them always. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
It seems Israel's problems (and by extension, our own) always stemmed from a faulty response to God's Word. We either keep the parts of the Word we find enjoyable to keep and ignore the rest, or we hold onto the letter of the Word without having any relationship with the God of the Word. Or, knowing the Word, we live in disobedience to it, doing whatever seems right in our own eyes. Whatever seems right in our eyes is almost always contrary to what God desires. Without the counsel of the whole Word of God, we are lost in the fog and darkness of our own corrupted wisdom. Without acknowledging our need, and humbly and contritely coming to Jesus for the life only He can give, we have no spirit-illuminated understanding of God's word. It is like trying to follow directions written in a language with which we are not familiar.
Those who have been recorded as men and women after God's own heart, and as God's friends, are those who held tightly to the word in obedience, and were saturated by and steeped in the scriptures. When one comes to Psalm 119, one is astounded by David's awe, devotion, wonder and joy in the Word of God--even as he was moved by the spirit of God to pen more of it. The Word was to him a lamp, a light, a strong tower, a comfort, a shelter and so much more. Isaiah found that God dwells with the humble and contrite and those who tremble at his word. Jeremiah found the words of God and ate them (internalized them perhaps) and they became for him a joy and the delight of his heart. All this, and far too much more to mention, was written for our instruction upon whom the end of the ages has come. "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4)
When the God of hope sent The Word Incarnate, Jesus was full to overflowing with the word Inscripturate. He didn't speak on his own, but spoke the words the Father told him to speak. In one instance he boldly quoted the words of Moses to Satan, saying: "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) If Jesus Christ of Nazareth declared his dependence upon the word of God, how much more must we?
As we read the New Testament, we find the Holy Spirit drawing out of the writers--as one draws water from a reservoir--the scriptures they had heard and known since their youth. We are impressed with their command of the scriptures as the spirit illuminates the word to them and moves them to write even more for our benefit, the very God-breathed Word, that we might become wise unto salvation through Christ Jesus, and have a useful repository from which to draw for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, thoroughly equipping us for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Jesus has invited us to live (abide) in Him and in His love just as He lived (abided) in his Father's love. We may participate in this wondrous privilege of abiding by believing on Jesus and by obedience to His Word. Jesus is our model as He lived in the Father and God's Word lived in Him. Jesus bore the fruit of salvation for us all and brought glory to God. If we would bear fruit for God, we too must abide in Jesus and His Word must abide in us. (John 15:1-10 and 1 John 2:6)
Those who have come before us in Christ, bearing fruit in plenty and showing themselves to be disciples of Jesus, bringing glory to God, have all been remarkable for their knowledge and use of the scriptures--not that they were scholars necessarily, or even learned, but that the Word lived in them and was upon their lips. It flowed from them in their preaching, teaching, journals, letters and exploits. They washed one another with the hearing of the Word, exhorting, edifying, consoling. The Holy Spirit found in them that which He had moved them to write (the fruit of time spent reading, meditating, hearing, internalizing) and brought forth streams of living water for the thirsty of the world.
We who are in Christ are already enlisted in this company of Sowers of the Word. Let us take some of our precious time to fill our hearts and minds with the living seed of scripture so that it will be upon our lips. Perhaps we could return to the early church's practice of reading large portions of scripture aloud in our meetings. (1 Timothy 4:13) Let us read it to our families. Let us talk about it when we sit in our house and when we walk by the way, that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, bearing fruit to the glory of God.
Jason Nightingale is a professional scriptureteller. He, and his wife Sharon, travel continually sowing the Word and raising awareness of the needs of orphans and widows in West Africa. Jason is a member of Marshalltown (Iowa) Friends.
Copyright (c) 2001 Friends United Meeting
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