“Let the Word of Christ dwell richly among you.” Colossians 3:16a
It made all the difference in the world. The other day I was reading a story, and it was one of those stories that seemed too weird to be true…but apparently it is. The story starts in Kalinovka, Russia—more specifically at the small church in the village. To encourage the children to attend Sunday School, the priest began to hand out candy to the peasant children and not surprisingly—it worked.
One of the most faithful of the children was a pug-nosed, pugnacious boy who recited his Scriptures with proper piety, pocketed his reward, then fled into the fields to munch on it.
The priest took a liking to the boy and persuaded him to attend church school by offering other incentives. It was there that the priest managed to teach the boy the four Gospels. In fact, this little boy won a special prize for learning all four by heart and reciting them nonstop in church! It was an amazing feat back then and now.
Now, let’s fast forward the clock 60 years, and we find that the boy still loved to recite Scriptures but in a context that would horrify the old priest. You see, the prized pupil who memorized so much of the Bible was Nikita Khrushchev, the former Communist leader. The same little boy who nimbly mouthed God’s Word as a child later declared God to be nonexistent.
By now, you might be asking, “How could this be?” Well, it is not as rare as you might think. You see, Khrushchev memorized the Scripture for the rewards rather than for the impact it could have in life. There is a truth that was true then and trust me, it is true today. You see, artificial motivation will produce artificial results. While Khrushchev heard and memorized the scripture, he never allowed it to penetrate his heart and consequently his heart was never changed.
The harsh truth then is a harsh truth now. Ask yourself, “How many times have I gone to church and mindlessly sat through a sermon? How many times have I read the Bible and not allowed its truth to change my life? We could go on and on, but the bottom line is this—it is not enough, in fact it is woefully short, when we merely hear or merely read the Bible. We have got to let the Word of God abide in us—to change us. It’s a good reminder that as you learn the Word of God, keep your motives pure and make it an exercise of both your heart and your mind!
Perhaps Paul, the guy in the Bible, said it best when he wrote, “Let the Word of Christ dwell richly among you.” The word “dwell” here means to allow it to be at home—to take up residence. When we allow the Word to dwell—well, it can’t help but make a big impact. Many of us travel along on our Jesus journey and wonder why it just doesn’t seem to make a real difference. This just might be your answer. Remember John 1:14 tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Let Him and His Word in and you will quickly discover a great truth—He’s more real and powerful than you ever imagined and—He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 