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| Vol. 14 No. 3 March 2012 | Page 7 |
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| Vol. 14 No. 3 March 2012 | Page 7 |
Editor's Note
Marilyn LaStrape
Among numerous eternal truths from Matthew Chapters 5-7, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). This righteousness that Jesus spoke of is found in the Bible only. We have got to spend some time reading the only book that God ever wrote. “Have you not read…?” was a question that Jesus asked several times during His earthly ministry.
A familiar slogan for some of us comes from Cracker Jack, “The more you eat, the more you want.” Many of us may remember the TV commercial for Quaker Oats to promote their breakfast cereal, Life. Three little boys are sitting at a table looking at the bowl of cereal. The two older boys are pushing the bowl back and forth between the two of them as they are saying, “I’m not gonna try it — you try it!” Speaking of the youngest boy, one says, “Let’s get Mikey, he hates everything!” To their utmost surprise, Mikey begins to eat heartily the cereal, to which they exclaim, “He likes it! Hey, Mikey!”
Do we have memories of foods and drinks that we once hated? Now over time, and tasting, and finally eating, we really enjoy some of those foods and drinks. I remember most vividly my first experience with black olives. I thought they were huge delicious grapes! What a shock as the flavor of that olive connected with my taste buds! UUGGH! It was years before I ever tried them again; now they are one of my all time favorites!
Before we are ever going to hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God, at some point in our lives, we are going to have to start reading the Bible. It is an acquired taste. David said in Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 119:103 declares, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
We cannot remain unable to digest the solid food of the Bible and be pleasing to God. Hebrews 5:13-14 emphatically states this spiritual truth. “For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (ESV).
Giving up the mind candy of movies, television, video games, the Internet, emailing, magazines, newspapers, novels, texting, iPhones and such will not be easy! However, once we have made the commitment to read and digest Scripture, we will never regret that decision!
Prayerfully, the following passages will stimulate your spiritual appetite for the food that is able to save our souls and the living water that is able to quench our spiritual thirst.
Reading, studying, meditating and embracing God’s Word — it is an acquired taste. The more you eat and drink of God’s Word, the more you will grow to love it! David said in Psalm 119:47, “And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.”