The Word in Us

Having decided that we will follow Jesus, we are determined to learn as much about Him as possible. We get a clear picture of the kind of person He is by studying intently the Gospels, learning from other disciples, and praying to our heavenly Father, asking for His help to enable us to become like Jesus. As we learn the kinds of behaviors and activities found in Jesus’ life, we can emulate them in our own lives. The first behavior, or spiritual discipline, if you will that we will consider from Jesus’ life is a study of God’s word.

Rather than being a student of God’s word, we could actually say as John did that Jesus is God’s word (John 1:1-3, 14). Jesus not only came to save us from our sins, but also to reveal the Father to us (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus came to show us God, and He did so by living out in a human body the very nature and character of God. Jesus was a living manifestation of the word of God. He was the word of God lived out in a real human life. This, of course, is how it should be with Jesus’ disciples. We should all be living manifestations of the word of God. The word of God should come alive in our lives. God’s word should be seen in us as we live out the human experience each day.

One of the most effective methods that Jesus used to teach was to take common everyday life situations and use them as tools to express God’s word. Scripture reading and memorization are critical to understanding the teachings of Jesus, but knowledge without application is not going to make us disciples. We must incorporate what we read and learn into our hearts. We must become the word of God in a human body, just as Jesus was. We must get into the word, and the word must get in us. God speaks to us through His word. He speaks to us through Jesus’ words and Jesus’ life. As we grow in our discipleship, we will be instruments or vessels that God uses to speak to the lives of others to draw them to Him. We are to reflect the image and glory of God to others, just as Jesus has done so to us.

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