By
reading the Bible you are adding yeast to the dough of your soul and body,
which gradually expands and fills the soul until it has thoroughly permeated it
and makes it rise with the truth and righteousness of the Gospel.
In
every instance, the Savior’s parable about the sower and the seed can be
applied to every one of us. The Seed of Divine Truth is given to us in the
Bible.
By
reading it, we sow that seed in our own soul. It falls on the rocky and thorny
ground of our soul, but a little also falls on the good soil of our heart — and
bears fruit.
And
when you catch sight of the fruit and taste it, the sweetness and joy will spur
you to clear and plow the rocky and thorny areas of your soul and sow it with
the seed of the word of God.
Do
you know when a man is wise in the sight of Christ the Lord? — when he listens to His word and carries it out. The
beginning of wisdom is to listen to God’s word (Matt. 7:24-25).
Every
word of the Savior has the power and the might to heal both physical and
spiritual ailments. “Say the word and my
servant will healed” (Matt. 8:8). The Savior said
the word — and the centurion’s servant was healed.
Just
as He once did, the Lord even now ceaselessly says His words to you, to me, and
to all of us. But we must pause, and immerse ourselves in them and receive them
with the centurion’s faith.
And
a miracle will happen to us, and our souls will be healed just as the
centurion’s servant was healed. For it is related in the Gospel that they
brought many possessed people to Him, and He drove out the spirits with a word,
and healed all the sick (Matt. 8:16).
He
still does this today, because the Lord Jesus “Is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
Beware.
Those
who do not listen to God’s words will be judged at the Dreadful Judgment, and
it will be worse for them on the Day of Judgment than it was for Sodom and
Gomorrah (Matt. 10:14-15).
Beware
— at the Dreadful Judgment you will be asked to give an account for what you
have done with the words of God, whether you have listened to them and kept
them, whether you have rejoiced in them or been ashamed of them, the Lord will
also be ashamed of you when He comes in the glory of His Father together with
the holy angels (Mark 8:38).
There
are few words of men that are not vain and idle. Thus there are few words for
which we do not mind being judged (Matt. 12:36).
In
order to avoid this, we must study and learn the words of God from the Bible
and make them our own; for God proclaimed them to men so that they might accept
them, and by means of them also accept the Truth of God itself.
How to Read the Bible by Archimandrite Justin Popovich
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