Several months ago I
printed out all of Romans chapter 12 and taped it to the wall next to my
desk. This was in response to a mentor
challenging me to memorize it. Though I
can’t honestly say that I have committed the entire passage to memory, it has
begun to burrow its way into my thoughts.
As the words wriggle deeper into my mind, I sense a turning. A turning away from anxiety, away from pride,
away from pretension.
As a “vocational pastor”
it is too easy a temptation to approach Scripture with a clinical eye. I’ve been taught exegesis, isogesis, textual
criticism, and many other “isms”. All
continue to be useful tools for interacting with the Word of God. Yet none of those scholarly techniques come
close to the transformative power of simply soaking in the Water of Life.
The Father wants us to
know His Word. He wants us to “bind it
on our foreheads”. He does not however,
want our disciplines and techniques to leave us with Scripture that is like a
bowl of chips left out all night—tasteless and stale.
Taste and see that the
LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in him! Psalm 34:8
I challenge you to print
out Romans 12. Tape it up somewhere that
you will encounter it daily and naturally.
Read it with your heart. Read it
with your mind. Allow it to wash over
and through you. Taste and see that God’s
Word is good.
