Leading to Life

George Mueller wrote that the “vigor of our spiritual life is in direct proportion to the place we hold the Bible in our thoughts.” The ultimate goal of the shaping and transforming is to lead a person into the “life that really is life”. Like other spiritual disciplines, reading Scripture is a means to an end. The “end game” of Scripture is the cultivation of a life that is lived in the Kingdom of God as an, as R. Paul Stevens and Michael Green put it, “ Abba Worshipper”, “Disciple of Jesus”, and “Temple of the Holy Sprit”.

God uses the Scriptures to teach us the way of Life in relationship with the Trinity. In the conversation with Scripture, we are shaped by the images, stories, heart and soul of the message within. The message that we find is ultimately found in Jesus. Jesus is the Word in flesh – the lived expression of the Word of God. In Jesus, we discover what true life is. All Scripture either points to or flows from Jesus. If in our reading the Bible we miss Jesus, we miss the point, and we miss finding life.

To read the Bible is not enough. Reading alone does not lead to life. God uses the Scriptures as a tool for our spiritual formation, but we must properly engage them with mind and heart, with “eye to the will of God” and a “fixed resolution to do” what God speaks to us, for he leads us to true and everlasting life. Perhaps the Psalmist best describes this life, which comes by the Word of God:

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Blessed are those
who do not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,

but who delight in the law of the LORD
and meditate on his law day and night.

They are like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

A Prayer:

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Lord, powerful and loving, Abba Father, author and perfector of life, thank you for giving us your holy Scriptures. Please help us to learn how to come them as your living and active Word. Let your Spirit be with us as we read, study, and meditate. Give us a listening ear and willing heart. As you challenge us to change, enable us to be obedient to your Voice knowing that you desire the best for us. In the name of Jesus, the Word made Flesh, amen.