Wednesday's Word...γράμμα (4/17/13)

γράμμα

In 2nd Grade I had a girlfriend. For the sake of this post, we will call her Jaime...well, that was her actual  name. I was wondering the other day why our relationship never worked out. I mean, I was in love, I was head over heals for this girl...she was everything to me. So why did it all fall apart on me so quickly?

It wasn't too hard to figure out. Like most every 2nd Grade relationships, this is how our dating took place:

Jaime: "Will you go out with me?"
Rodney: "Heck yeah!"
Jaime: "Cool."
Then came the silence. We never talked about it. We never talked to each other. That's what you do in 2nd Grade. You don't talk to the people you're going out with or that you want to go out with. I think that's where the whole thing fell apart. Lack of communication. 

I haven't lost any sleep over that lost relationship. However, we often take the same approach to our relationship with Jesus don't we? 

"I love Jesus!" "He's everything to me!" "My life wasn't complete until I met Jesus!" "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and I accept Him as my personal Lord and Savior."  Then comes the radio silence. We stop talking to each other...we stop talking to Him (more on that next week) and we stop listening to Him. Soon we find our love and excitement over all that Jesus has done for us begins to wane; our relationship starts to fall apart. Why? Because communication is key for any relationship. 

As we live in the shadow of the cross we must not lose sight of the Savior. Easter is over. Jesus is risen. He's preparing a place for us. Until then, He's given us some love letters...γράμμα.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,  and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture [γράμμα] is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the servant of God  may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)

γράμμα - writing, that is, a letter, note, epistle, book, etc.

When I met Kari Jo (it was before texting was widely available), it was not at all uncommon for us to drop notes in each others campus mailboxes. Still to this day I save every card or note she writes to me. Why do I do that? Because what she says is important to me. When she tells me something encouraging, it means so much more than when it comes from you. 

All Scripture is from the very breath of God. It teaches, reveals our failings, encourages, and moves us toward right living on the path God has laid out for us. So, of course, the natural place for us to keep that is on a shelf, in a nightstand, buried in the backseats of our cars, only to be brought out on Sunday morning if we remember it!  

If Jesus is your everything, if you love Him, if you are made complete through Him shouldn't you be clinging to His words as though they are the life-giving, life-altering words they are? Shouldn't you cling to it, reading it over and over again to draw strength and encouragement for your life and the lives of those in your circle of influence? 

May your walk with Christ be more than a 2nd Grade relationship. 

becoming rooted,
Rodney