Many find the teachings of God’s word distasteful. Unwilling to bring their lives into conformity with the will of God, they reject His word and follow after their own desires. The apostle Paul warned of such in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 where he writes: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.” Could these words accurately describe modern society?
Jesus said, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4). We must live by God’s word or we will die unprepared to face judgment (Jn. 12:48). Negus Menelik, ruler of Ethiopia from 1844 to 1913, misunderstood the meaning these words of Jesus. Taking it literally, Menelik ate two pages a day, believing it gave him special powers. But, when he got to the books of 1 and 2 Kings and a section of colored illustrations, the poison in the ink killed him.
Jesus spoke of spiritual rather than physical matters when he referred to living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Christians should resemble “newborn babes” and “long for the pure milk of the word” (1 Pet. 2:2). In this sense, the word does have special powers in that it provides the “wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ” (2 Tim. 3:15). But this word must be taken into the heart rather than the stomach. Only then, will it produce faith and lead to salvation.
God’s word can only produce its desired result when we accept it by faith and put it into practice in our daily lives. Paul exhorts us to let Christ’s word dwell richly within our hearts (Col. 3:16). Isn’t it about time that we appreciate God’s word for what it really is–food for the soul?