Sushi and Avocado

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

 

I recently ate sushi for the first time ever. I had a really hard time with the texture of the raw meat – I enjoyed the rest of it. My son said it is something I will get used to as I have it a few more times. There is not much of a chance I will eat sushi a few more times, but I understood what he was saying. There are many foods that I now love that I was not sure of the first time I ate them. Avocados come to mind.  I would now eat avocados every day if I had opportunity; the more I eat them, and the more ways I try them, the more I like them.

Books can be the same.  Many books are written for women that are basically topical bible studies. How to have the perfect marriage, how to raise the perfect children, how to raise boys, how to raise girls, how to be friends with other women, books on hospitality and gardening, what to do with anger, what to do with unforgiveness, how to be holy, etc., etc., you get my point. Some may be sushi, some may be avocados.  We choose to read the ones that suit our tastes.

We all have weaknesses and every woman chooses those books that will address her own “needs improvement” areas of living.  Women who struggle in their marriages read every “Be a Good Wife, Now” book they can get their hands on. They read blogs and websites that advise, and many of them biblically, on how to better the marriage relationship. The same with women who think that everyone else’s children are maturing faster, walking sooner, or reading before hers. They are looking for the books on how to raise children.

However, after teaching a class on parenting I’m starting to wonder about our choices.

One of the things we were teaching, and that Paul Tripp emphasized early in his DVD series entitled “Getting to the Heart of Parenting”, was how important it is to be consciously pointing our children to the goodness and greatness of God.  We want to make sure that one of the things we pass to the next generation is a vivid understanding of who God is. If all we ever teach our children are God’s laws without pointing out how those laws protect and provide for us, we are not giving our children reason to obey those laws.

As women read book after book based on an area of need (as they see it) they may be failing to get the bigger picture of who God is. Today a friend was lamenting with me that we are not seeing a hunger for God’s word in many of the women we have been teaching. It seems that many women think it is too much work or the Bible will be too hard.

If you have read a few books on marriage and the marriage is still a problem, or if you have read the parenting books but really can’t see how the biblical principles are going to work for you, or you’ve read how to be hospitable and fellowship with other believers in your home but it just isn’t coming off right when you do it, then how about spending some time not reading “about” the Word of God but actually studying the Word of God?

I have learned far more about God from God than I ever have by reading the books others wrote about what He has said. It is not until we see who He is, His compassion, His ability to comfort us (and our children), His provision in times of need, and His grace when we sin again, that we will effectively share those same attributes with others.

God’s Word says about itself that it is “living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Other people’s words are good. They can be a helpful support of the Word of God. But they are not the Word of God. They do not produce in us a hunger to know more about HIM.

I still don’t like sushi but I learned to like avocado. I fear that our lack of hunger for God’s Word has to do with our lack of taste. Once we taste and see that the Lord is good, we will want more and more of Him. When we have more of Him, we will be more like Him. No other book can convey the truth of who God is like the Bible does.

All of this from a woman who blogs and writes about the Bible all the time. Yet I know there is nothing I can say that will convince you of the Truth of the scripture if you are not willing to study it for yourself.

(If you are hungry for the Word of God check to see if there is a Bible Study Fellowship class near you. If you are in the Reading, Pa area the class is Monday nights at Calvary Bible Fellowship Church in Sinking Spring, starting Monday, Sept. 9th at 7 PM.

bsfinternational.org will tell you where other classes are)