The past two weeks I’ve been reading this passage over and over again…and WOW – I can’t get through it all in one sitting because there is just so much goodness to take in and meditate on. My heart keeps going back to verse 16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
How amazing that God gave us hearts and minds that can absorb truth! Paul’s encouragement is for us to LET the word of Christ dwell in us richly. We have to allow it. God wants us to be filled with the Word, himself, but we have to allow it in. Invite it in. Let it in.
Guess what else BLEW MY MIND?! Thinking about the word of Christ. Is that the same Word in John 1, that was present at creation and also became the flesh (Christ himself)? Is it the red letters in my Bible?
Lastly, I love the word used here – dwell. Webster defines dwell as reside, live, be settled, be housed, lodge, stay. I don’t know about you, but I want Jesus’s word to live in me, to stay with me, and to be settled in me! This isn’t a “Let the word of Christ stop by from time to time” or “Let the word of Christ be an occasional visitor in your world”. This is a DWELL. STAY. BE SETTLED. And if that wasn’t enough, he adds “richly”. Abundantly, greatly, strongly, deeply, EXTRA.
How can we do this? Here are some areas of focus for me:
- Pray for a passion and desire to let the word of Christ dwell in me richly.
- Read the Word. And if it’s going to dwell + stay, I need to read more frequently and consistently.
- Speak, write, and sing the Word. We all learn in different ways – reading it, writing it, and singing it, talking about it, can help me retain memory. Proven by my ability to recite the entire dialogue and songs from Psalty’s Camping Adventure, that I watched a million times on VHS (age 8).
I love that God gives us the ability to keep His Word in our hearts. He knows the power of the Word, the wisdom and peace it brings!
Francis Chan’s book Forgotten God shares a brief outline of Esther Ahn Kim:
Esther Ahn Kim’s biography is around the most powerful testimonies I have ever read. It was during WWII, and the Japanese occupation of Korea, that Esther’s journey of Faith really began. She refused to bow down at the shrines set up in every corner of her country and was eventually imprisoned for six years, from 1939 until 1945. Knowing she was destined for prison for refusing to bow to idols, Esther spent time training herself both physically and spiritually. She memorized more than 100 chapters of the Bible and many hymns because she knew she would not be allowed to keep her Bible. She spent countless hours seeking God though fasting and prayer. These times when she read the Scriptures led to greater clarity and she was able to surrender her fear of being tortured. When she was eventually taken to prison, God used her in countless way.
Esther let the Word of Christ dwell in her richly, and when you read more of her testimony, you can see just how powerfully the Word was used in her life. There’s nothing better we can fill our hearts and minds with than the Living Word!
God, thank you for providing your Word for us, and it’s ability to dwell in us. Help us to seek your Word and let it dwell in our hearts. We want to know You more and Your ways to become our ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
