In Cultivating a Love for God’s Word, Michael Kelley wrote: “Our hearts follow our investments. We desire that men, women, and children not just read the Bible, but also that they love the Bible. The problem is that you can’t manufacture love even in your own heart, much less in the hearts of the people of your church. That’s why this truth is so valuable because even though you can’t manufacture love, you can control your focus and priority. And our hearts will follow our investments.”
In other words, if we want to grow a deeper love for Scripture, we should start by committing more time and energy to it. Our feelings and motivations will follow. The result? Genuine delight. A person who delights in God’s law meditates continually on it, seeks guidance from it, and obeys it consistently (vv. 1–2). Such a person is truly blessed, or happy.
The righteous person is like a fruitful tree, deeply rooted and well-watered. Connected to the Source of life, it never withers (vv. 3–4). “Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God” (Ps. 92:12–15). “It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jer. 17:8). Fruit means benefits to both self and others. The wicked person, on the other hand, is like chaff blown away by the wind, unstable and useless.
The results of these two paths of life are predictable (vv. 5–6). The wicked person won’t be able to stand before God on the day of judgment. Such a person will be destroyed. And the righteous person? God will faithfully watch over them all the days of their life.
>> A flourishing tree is a powerful image of the grounded Christian life. If you feel inspired, consider drawing or painting a picture or writing a poem or song about this word picture as an artistic act of worship.
Pray with Us
We have experienced the blessing of meditating on Your Word, day and night. As we continue to dwell in Scripture and prayer, please show us more and more of Yourself. Draw us into greater intimacy with You.
BY Brad Baurain
Dr. Bradley Baurain is Associate Professor and Program Head of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) at Moody Bible Institute. Bradley has the unique privilege of holding a degree from four different universities (including Moody). He has just published his first book, On Waiting Well. Bradley taught in China, Vietnam, the United States, and Canada. Bradley and his wife, Julia, have four children and reside in Northwest Indiana.