FAVORITES

All I have to do is say “Cuddles the Cow” and hold up a simple thick-page book, and my second grandson, Zion, comes right over to my lap.  At three, he’s developed a preference for anything with mechanical noises or retelling the adventures of “Thomas the Train.”  But this little book, about a mama cow and her calf (whose nose she tickles—and I then tickle Zion’s nose), which takes barely two minutes to read, at this point is one of his favorites.

His older brother, Josiah, in toddlerhood favored a little book about the habits of cats!  One page told about a bad cat scratching the furniture.  Never fail, he’d reach over and claw the drawing and say, “Bad cat!” Their home had a connection point for that: a “bad cat” who similarly reached under the furniture covers to scratch!

When our grandsons come over for care, these books (culled from yard sales) are among the dozens in two bookcases in our living room.  Yes, we have a cache of other toys, but I always try to include “reading time” during their visits to us.  It’s paid off. The other day I opened a simple book with Josiah (not yet 5) and ran my finger along the text...and listened to him sound out the words and read it to me.  His mom takes them to the library and they regularly read to the boys—and it’s reaping benefits.

Soon, I hope, their spiritual development will blossom and they’ll come to the point where they can live out the words of an Old Testament prophet: “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty” (Jeremiah 15:16).

I am grateful for pastors, Christian speakers, and writers who have helped me “eat” God’s Word. So many passages have become my “joy and heart’s delight” as I learn to praise God and trust Him in the hard and confusing times.  You’ll find lots of colored underlining in my Bible, a virtual rainbow of promises that have entered my heart.  They’re the places where God has “tickled my nose” or reminded me of bad habits (like cats who scratch furniture).

At different times in my life, different scripture passages have become “favorites” as I have needed comfort, assurance, instruction and admonition.  Recently I’ve been going through Proverbs to help me sort out why some people are so hard to get along with. But then I dip back into other passages, like Romans 8 and how nothing of the world’s problems can keep me from God’s amazing love. I memorized that chapter a few months before my world crashed with my parents’ deaths only six months apart. Did I need that word of encouragement? You know I did!

I know my grandsons will soon “graduate” beyond Cuddles and Thomas (and even Winnie the Pooh, still a favorite). I’m glad to share the world of children’s literature with them.  But I will also pray that they will yearn for—yes, “eat”—God’s Word, and grow up as strong, true men of God.  

Food Forgetfulness

His favorite place to perch is the rug right in front of his feeding area. It doesn’t matter if he’s been out snooping around the yard for just an hour after the last feeding. When he comes in, he heads for the feeding place and presents his practiced look of please-feed-me-I’m-starving. According to the

cat-age calculator you can find on the internet (for real), our 16-year-old rescue cat, Augie, is comparable in age span to an 80-year-old human. Maybe that explains his apparent memory failures regarding his last meal or snack.  Despite frequent snacks, he has neither cartoon-cat-Garfield girth nor wild-cat-scrawniness. When we take him in for his license-required rabies shot, the vet assistant who weighs him often remarks, “Wow, he’s a big fellow.”  Not that he’d break any records like some You-Tube tubbies....

 

One thing Augie’s “hunger pose” reminds me of is my own hunger for things that really matter.  I’m not talking about personal favorites, like split pea soup, green bell peppers, and chocolate ice cream.  Rather, it’s spiritual hunger, as in this “appetite” metaphor of Jeremiah 15:16: Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. (KJV)

Jeremiah didn’t actually chew and swallow the scriptures (leave that for another prophecy, found in Ezekiel 3:1-3). A more recent translation of Jeremiah 15:16 goes:

Your words are what sustain me.  They bring me great joy and are my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty. (TEV)

Basically Jeremiah was saying, “I’m hungry for the Word of God.  It satisfies me spiritually like nothing else because I belong to the Author.”  The verse comes in the context of a lament about how far his nation had strayed from God.  In fact, he even wishes for a moment that he hadn’t been born (v. 10). He’s preaching God’s judgment on national sins, and nobody wants to hear that message. His only solace is going back to the pure spiritual food of God’s Word.  For him, this meant the Pentateuch (first five books), psalms and proverbs.  God tells him not to give up the spiritual learning curve or preaching about God’s holiness.  “If you speak words that are worthy,” God told the prophet, “you will be my spokesman” (v. 19). As I witness the spiritual decline of my times, I realize God could use many more as spokespeople speaking out Truth, no matter how unpopular.

 Our adequately-fed cat also has “cat treats,” little nuggets of intense flavor (one package we bought on sale boasts of “catnip” flavor). But we don’t get true spiritual nourishment by gobbling devotional treats—the “in-and-out-in-a-minute” type. They’re better than nothing, but real spiritual nourishment comes with thoughtful, application-oriented reading of scriptures. And even though I make fun of my cat’s senile forgetfulness about his last meal, it’s okay to have a healthy appetite for the Word of God, finding in it the joy and rejoicing of my heart.

Fake Food

It almost looks like a yummy breakfast, but it’s rocks, polished to look like the real thing. The “rock food” display is an annual favorite in the hobby building of our county fair—courtesy rock and mineral hobbyists. This year, seeing the display reminded me of another physically impossible “eating”—that given in Jeremiah 15:16: “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD Almighty.” This verse, from Jeremiah’s call to be a prophet, was one of the first scriptures I memorized as a new Christian. But I had to think a while about what “eating God’s words” was all about.

 Similar ideas appear elsewhere in the Bible. Manna, the miracle food that fell like dew for 40 years in the wilderness, is often referred to in spiritual terms. Joshua was probably thinking of that when he told the Israelites on the verge of entering the Promised Land, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth”  (Joshua 1:8). In other words, the scriptures available to them at that time were to be a daily intake, as manna was in the desert.  Psalm 119:103 continues the analogy: “How sweet are your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” Another prophet, Ezekiel (who came  long after Jeremiah) literally ate a scroll, which he found “as sweet as honey” (Ezekiel 3:1-3).

But here’s the truth: not everybody finds God’s word “sweet as honey.” Their relationship with God is not deep enough or growing enough to find delight in God’s Word.  They may say, “Yes, I have a Bible, I even take it to church. Sure, I don’t read much during the week.  Life gets busy, you know. I know enough verses to get the essentials of it.” That’s about on par with licking petrified rocks.  Eventually you starve.

Another way of looking at “eating” God’s word is tucked away in Psalm 1. First, the psalmist commends the man who says “no” to the world’s way of doing life.  Instead, he delights in God’s word, “and on his law he meditates day and night.”  The idea is not that he gives up on sleep, but that he lives in constant desire and pleasure of God-awareness through studying the Bible.  A step deeper on the key word, “meditate”: the Hebrew word, hagah, means “to mediate, moan, growl, utter, speak.”  It’s an onomatopoetic term—in other words, it sounds like somebody groaning or sighing as the ancients used to do. It’s deep thinking that comes out through the throat and tongue. We don’t need any particular posture to hagah, just a desire to yield fully to God. When we read scripture, it’s not to check off so many chapters or verses a day. It’s to read thoughtfully, seeking a message that’s God-tailored for us.

A vibrant Christian walk is incompatible with spiritual malnutrition.  Or, as Francis Chan wrote in Crazy Love: “Lukewarm living and claiming Christ’s name simultaneously is utterly disgusting to God” (p. 103). No licking “rocks.” Instead, seeking Christ, the Bread of Life. 

The new year is always a good time for a spiritual re-evaluation.  If you sense God challenging you to move deeper with Him, that's worth a hagah.