While on retreat a while back, our rooms had a beautiful view overlooking the bay. As we watched the activity among the geese swimming and frolicking in the water, my friend shared with me her wise observation about the geese.
Noticing the many geese diving down into the water despite the ample food along the shoreline, she said that it must be that the food in the water is the good stuff. And so rather than settle for the easy way, the geese made the effort to dive down deep to get the better morsels. Just like we should dive down deep for the good stuff in God’s Word. .
Oswald Chambers said, “Good is the enemy of best.” If we settle for what’s good, we miss out on what’s best.
When it comes time for reading the Bible, sometimes we skim the surface rather than dive in to find deeper meaning. But the good stuff is down deep!
- When we learn that it was in prison that Paul said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” it means more than if he was writing these words from the comfort of his home.
- When we learn the meaning of the words in their original language, they take on new meaning. For example, the parts of the armor of God in Ephesians 6 include the “sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.” All the other parts of the armor are defensive (helmet, shield, etc.) The sword (God’s Word) is our only offense. But the word for sword does not mean a large saber-type sword. No, it is a small sword, like a scalpel, to be used an instrument of healing removing that which is detrimental to our health, not as a machete to hurt someone.
- Down deep, we find the history of the times in which the words were recorded. And the geneologies that we so often skip over contain nuggets of insight, like the fact that there is a harlot (Rahab) in the line of David and Jesus.
It’s worthwhile to dive down deep to be fed spiritually on the Word. The Bible refers to itself as our spiritual food. Babies eat milk because they can’t digest meat. But as they mature, they move on to meatier, more complex things. And so should we.
Along that same line, we should not be discouraged if we don’t understand some of what we read in the Bible. We just haven’t grown to that point yet, but it’s something to look forward to. What we don’t want is to settle for less than best.
So friends, let’s go! Won’t you dive in deep with me and discover the amazing truths found in His Word?
