Jesus modeled a respect and dependence on the words of His Father. He once corrected the religious leaders in their use of Scripture:
“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.” (John 5:39 NIV)
The Scriptures point to Jesus Christ, in whom we have eternal and abundant life.
Throughout the Scriptures we see that God is the source of our spiritual nourishment. Check out Psalm 81:10:
who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” (NIV)
One of the main ways God’s people have been filled and nourished by Him over the centuries is through the intake of God’s Word. From the time I was in college, God has given me a hunger for the Scriptures. They are my primary source of nourishment. How about you? I find that often the reason people don’t hunger for the Scriptures is because they have not recently experienced—tasted—them and read them as a source of life and nourishment. God never meant for us to read them primarily as a source of knowledge, like any other book. He describes the Scriptures as “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). They are meant to be life-giving. Listen to the testimony of Job and the Psalmist:
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. (Job 23:12)How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)
Are you nourished?