A couple of nights ago I got this text message from a friend: “How do we rekindle a passion for the Word?”
I was so excited to get this question for two reasons: 1) Because the question reveals the desire. Assuming he was asking for himself (and he was), the question means that my friend is desiring to rekindle a passion for God’s Word, and what could be better news to receive than that? And then 2) Because this is at least one question that I think I have an answer for.
The Trick to Relationships
I have been married long enough to know now that there is only one thing that makes me fall in love with my wife over and over again. If ever I find my affections for her beginning to grow stale, I just return to this one thing and it works like magic. You know what it is? Time! Focused, intentional, uninterrupted time.
As soon as I start giving my wife my undivided attention (and not to my phone), all the reasons that I married her and more begin rushing back, and I find myself falling head over heals once all over again.
Now, I don’t think its just something that works for me and my wife or even just for husbands and wives. I think that time is the answer for rekindling all relationships, parent and child, friend to friend, siblings, spouses, you name it. There might be more to the health of these relationships sometimes, but not less. Time is the irreplaceable component.
And it is no different when it comes to us and God, because that is after all, another relationship. Just read a couple verses that say as much.
John 15:15 "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."
Galatians 4:6-7 "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."
Its another relationship. By way of faith in the finished work of Christ, the God of the universe has invited us into relationship with Himself. And and the key to that relationship growing and thriving, just like every other relationship, is time. There is no other way to make that relationship grow. There are no short cuts.
What About the Bible?
At this point you may say, “You have not answered the question that your friend asked. He asked you how to rekindle a relationship with God’s Word, not a relationship with God.” That is true, but the two are not disconnected. If spending time with God is about getting to know God, well what is the primary way that we get to know Him? Just listen to Jesus’ words to the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5.39-40). It is the Scriptures lead us to Christ! Add to that the words of Psalm 19, that the Word of God actually revives our souls, puts joy in our hearts, and enlightens our eyes (Ps 19.7-9).
According to the Scriptures, it is the Scriptures, by the power of God’s Spirit, that brings us to engage with God Himself. And if that is the case, then time spent in the Scriptures will excite us for the Scriptures because of how they serve to stir our affections for God! It might not be easy, but it is also not that complicated. To rekindle a love for God we must rekindle a love for His Word, and to rekindle a love for His Word we must spend our time in His Word.
So listen, is your relationship with God struggling? Is your passion for His Word lacking? Build a home in the Scriptures and live there. Be much alone with God through His Word, and then watch your love for God and His Word explode.