Drawing What We Need From Christ

 

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you. (John 15:7 NKJV)

When a mother nurses her baby it's an experience of intimacy. The baby's not only getting milk, but drawing close to its mother in the warmth of a loving relationship. We could say that the baby is feeding relationally as well as nutritionally. This is what Jesus meant when He said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you." Too many of us view the Bible as a library of information to be studied. And Bible study is important. But when you feed on God's Word with the desire of getting to know the person behind the page, it changes everything.

You can read the big words in a medical book, but when you're sick you want a doctor there to tell you what those words mean and what it will take to make you well. When you're hungry it's nice to have a menu to choose from. But what you want is a waiter standing there to tell you what's in the various meals and what he has tasted and found to be good from the menu. In other words, you want to relate to someone who embodies the information you are receiving. That's because the goal of medical treatment is health, not being able to pronounce the big words of your illness. And the goal of going to a restaurant is a meal, not the menu.

When your goal in Bible reading moves from information to personal intimacy ("Lord, what are You saying specifically to me?"), especially during times of Spiritual need, you are on the road to maturity.

We talked about the fact that when a baby is hungry, or in need of changing, or afraid, the mother will hold it and feed it at her breast. In this way the baby is not only being fed nutritionally, but also relationally. Now, unless you think this is just sentimentalism, recall the sobering studies done years ago to determine why babies in orphanages, although regularly fed, were still dying. It was discovered that they were dying from a lack of being held and caressed because the attendants were too busy to give them the individual attention they needed. These infants were dying from lack of relationship! Even when children move beyond intimacy, the family is still designed to function in such a way that eating is done relationally as they gather for meals. Many families could testify that the meals they share together prove to be some of their most important times together.

We've all heard of people falling in love over the Internet before they ever meet. This raises an interesting question. If two people who have never seen each other can fall deeply in love through the written word and end up getting married, how much more should we be able to develop a love relationship with the unseen Christ, using His living Word that's written in our hearts? A long-distance love relationship doesn't depend on sight, but on the impact of the words. When two people are relating this way, they're going beyond the mere passing of information; there's an intimate relationship being built. Think about it!

THE VINE by Bob Gass © 2000 - 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).