I have often spent a week listening to Christian music, reading books by Christian writers and even spent hours in service. In the end though I still felt somehow empty. Why?
Lets look at this like a parent/child relationship. A kid comes home from school, cleans the kitchen, cleans their room, draws their paretns a picture and gets along with their fellow siblings. After they leave for school again without touching base with their folks. Now this goes on for years. What is true is that the kitchen and bedroom are very clean. Siblings are happy and pictures plaster the refridgerator. But that is all the kid knows. In truth he/she never really learned about their parents or anything from them. When that kid moves out he/she won't be able to budget, fix a car, ect....There are key things we learn from our parents or grown-up relations in our life that we need to be grown-ups.
"If you obey them (the laws) carefully, you will display your wisdom and intelligence to the surrounding nations." Deut 4:6
Kings were commanded by God to keep a copy of the Mosaic Law with them at all time and to read it daily. It was to teach them to fear the Lord. (reference Deut 17: 14 - 20)
But that's yesterday right? Not so. Jesus said that he didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. One would find in reading the Old Testiment a weath of practices, laws, and advice that can enrich ones life. The key is to remember that God is a God of love and He had a reason for all those laws. In the book "None of These Diseases" the author notes that in some practices of Mosaic Law a hyssop branch was used. Why? Turns out the hyssop branch contains a liquid similar to an antibactrial soap.God has reasons for even the strange laws.
So back to the no substitude of the Word. I have found, and maybe this is just me but I'm pretty sure its not, that I need specific time in the Word. I need to sit down with my Father and learn from Him. Its not complicated but it is a big part of the life of a Christian.
What do I learn? I learn about the basics of life living but also that my God is a lot closer than I thought. I learn that my Father loves me and is passionate about a relationship with me. (Exodus 34:14)That He was so passionate about this relationship that He sent His own son to die so I could live. But one can only learn this from reading the Word of God. Nothing else will be a substitude.If you find your fire for God needing some fuel...go to His Word. That is the fuel. Hungery? Start reading! Because he satisfies those who search for Him.
