O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
Psalm 119:97
The term “love” has become abused in many ways. In the English language, we can speak of our love for our spouse, love for parents, and our love for a skateboard. Unfortunately, this has contributed to a great misunderstanding of the meaning of love. Even Christians will speak of a love for God or a love for His word that has actually made very little difference in their lives.
The psalmist expresses his love for God’s law and then he explains the associated result. Because of his great love for God’s word, he thinks about it throughout the day. His love is a love that results in establishing a priority.
There is such a difference between acknowledging the value of something and actually benefiting from that value. A person can speak of the beauty, wisdom, and perfections of God’s word, etc., and yet not make it a priority in their life. We can also get into habits that give the impression that something is of great value and yet not gain the benefit God intends.
For instance, a person can get into a habit of reading the Bible every day. This does not mean that it is impacting their life. The psalmist understood that thinking carefully and systematically on God’s word throughout the day is essential if we are to be consistently spiritually minded.
The appropriate biblical progression in the life of a believer is that they love God’s word. As a result, they want to know it better every moment of every day of their lives. Because they love it, they are constantly thinking about it, considering how it should impact their own life as well as the lives of others.
Because they are disciplined to be thinking spiritually on a consistent basis, they are prepared to accomplish God’s purposes in the midst of the various circumstances of life.
Loving God’s word and biblical meditation are inseparable. Do you love God’s word? It will be evident because of your desire and commitment to biblical meditation.
