‘No, the Word is very
near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it’ Deut. 30v14
If something is near you, then it inevitably has an affect on
you. Be it positively or negatively, knowingly or unknowingly the people,
objects and circumstances that fill our world affect us. So if the Word of God
is very near to us how does it affect us?
Someone once said ‘Our words are an overflow of what fills
our heart’, if this is so then what does that overflow look like in our lives?
Does it affect our actions, our thought patterns, and the way that we conduct
ourselves in society?
Thomas à Kempis, in ‘The imitation
of Christ’ says, ‘If you know the whole Bible off by heart and all expositions
of scholars, what good would it do you without the love and grace of God.’ You
may have an amazing knowledge of the bible and have shelves of commentaries but
the recognition of His unconditional love and abounding grace is key if God’s
word is to have an effect and be powerful in our lives.
Verse 11
tells us that keeping these commands are not too difficult for us or beyond our
reach. He wants us to fill our hearts and minds with his word, that we may be
an example of it in this world. So what is stopping us from delving into the
bible and grappling with it each day? It’s more than just reading it and
leaving it on the bedside table, it’s about allowing what you’ve read to draw
near and transform your heart and mind.
So why not
start today? Take a verse or even just a word and dwell on it throughout your
day. Let God’s word by His Spirit transform you more into Christ’s-likeness.
(lay member of staff)