Light to the Eyes

How important is the Bible to you? I don’t mean how important would you like it to be to you or to your children. What I mean is—how important is the Bible to you and the way you live?  You want your children to follow the ways of Scripture. You want them to know its content.   You want them to know its Author. You know that what the Holy Spirit has written in his Word is essential for life.  But allow me to ask again, how important is the Bible to you? Is there a chance that you love what the Bible will do for you, but you struggle with actually loving it?

"Okay," someone is asking, "where are you going with this?  Of course I love the Bible; it is the most important book I own."  You see, the real test of the Bible's importance to you is this—how alive is the Scripture to you?  Hebrews 4:12 describes the Bible as being living and active. Is this merely a fact you teach your kids? Or does this phrase in Hebrews speak of you? Do you read the Bible simply to increase  your knowledge—or to be spiritually fed and enlivened as you read?

We know that our children must trust the Bible and live it. But do our children see that these words of God are living and working in us? Do our children know that the Bible defines who we are and how we live? The prophet Isaiah warned against following words learned by rote:

 And their worship of me
      is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote. Isaiah 29:13

Surely, you want more than rote knowledge to be the basis of your children’s worship.  But for it to be more than rote for your kids, it must be more than rote for you. It must be alive to you.  What is it that gives light to your eyes and brings joy to your heart?  This is a significant question, a question whose answer is at once disarming and revealing, if honestly asked and answered.

There is no more powerful gift you can give to your children than for the Word of God to bring light to your own eyes. Think about your relationship to God’s Word. How important is it to you? Does it bring light to your eyes as nothing else can? Truly, Jesus is the Light of the World.  Continue to think about the words of the Psalmist – do they describe you?

  ⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
       giving joy to the heart.
       The commands of the LORD are radiant,
       giving light to the eyes. Psalm 19:8

Comments

[David Hartman]

Jay,
This post reminds me of the comparison of knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. Another statement similar to this is do you trust Jesus (He is a trustworthy guy) or do you trust in Jesus (is He really God and can He really save me?)There is a huge difference between them and yet most people miss it.
The same is true of the Bible, as you have explained. You can believe it to be true and yet not have it change or direct the way you live. If you do not cherish it as the life giving, life altering Word of God your children will see right through your religious facade. But if they see it change you from the inside out they will begin to see the beauty and power of it and desire it for themselves.
Great post Jay! Thanks, and may your passion for the Word of God continue to grow.