YOU OWN A BIBLE! SO WHAT?

I don’t know how you measure or evaluate your love for God. 

But realistically, it seems impossible to make any kind of true evaluation, 

without measuring your love for His Word.

Psalm 19:10-14

More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors?

Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Does the Word of God hold the right value in your life?

The implication, as David concludes this psalm, is that every person needs to recognize his utter dependence upon the input of God’s Word. Does the Word of God hold greater value to you than anything else? Most of us would answer with a resounding ‘Yes!’. But although we might give mental assent to this question, our daily behavior answers the question with much more clarity and truthfulness.

These verses express the value of the Word to us, based on the amount of desire we have for it, the value we assign to it, and the sheer pleasure we find in it.

The desire we have for the Bible will flesh out in the priority we give to it in our lives.  Our desire for the Word of God is a clear indication of where we are spiritually; in fact, it is a primary sign of being a child of God. Sin and worldliness will always have an effect on our appetite for God’s instructions.

Every decision we make is directed by what we value most. Our desire to get up in the morning and be fed by the Word is indicative of the value we give to its instruction. Our making a priority of going to Bible Study and church exposes the value we assign to being instructed.

As the psalmist compares the Word of God to honey, he is poetically expressing the idea of what kind of soothing benefit he found in it.

In some ways it is true that our desire for, value in, and pleasure we have in the Word depends on our exposure to it and our having learned to appreciate its value.

The psalmist reminds us of the benefits that the Word provides to us. We are warned and in following we are rewarded. By reading it we are able to evaluate things correctly and know how to make godly decisions. Left to ourselves, we will be quickly driven by our arrogance into presumptuous sins. How easily we can then allow sin to dominate us.

Dear friends, as I look back into my life, I can see that my darkest moments were accompanied by lack of biblical teaching, lack of meditation of the Scriptures, and consequently, a lack of desire to have the Scriptures bring light to my sin.

At times, when some hear this kind of dependence and submission to the Word of God, they react negatively, thinking that one is becoming legalistic and radical in his thinking.

David was not legalistic. He had experienced times of sin and desperation, and he had known the pain produced by his sin. He wasn't a perfect man, but he knew where he could find peace and rest. He knew where he could find true wisdom and protection from his propensity to sin. These words are the result of the forging hand of God in his life.

I don’t know how you measure or evaluate your love for God. But realistically, it seems impossible to make any kind of true evaluation, without measuring your love for His Word.

David says that the ultimate evaluation is done by asking God if one is meeting His standards. In fact, even the way David addresses his God displays the relationship he had with Him.

He calls Him, his Lord, his Rock, and his Redeemer. David knew who his Master was. How could he know his marching orders, if he did not go to His Word? He knew that he lived in a slippery and unstable world and needed a Rock to stand on. He knew that he needed a Redeemer; he was a sinner whose natural tendencies were sinful, whose personal ideas were unwise. He needed the WORD!

We would all say that we need the Word. Peter expresses it in a beautiful way.

1 Peter 2:2,3

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Have you ever tried to postpone the feeding of a newborn? Have you ever tried to dissuade a baby from having his milk? The innate desire is unstoppable; it is as evident as the persistent cries we have all heard. The baby might trade a bottle for a pacifier or a finger, but not for long. He knows well the difference in taste and the satisfaction it provides.

God uses that image for us to evaluate our love for His Word, and ultimately, if we have tasted the goodness of God through His Word.

The question we should ask ourselves is if our love and desire for the Word, demonstrated by our daily behavior, is acceptable in God’s sight.

Our love for the Word is not demonstrated only by the time we give to its study and meditation, but also for the degree to which we submit to it, allowing it to shape our lives.

May the Lord help us to be honest, as we evaluate this important aspect of our lives.