Friends, feast on this perennially relevant musing from Bob Hyatt. May you find nourishment this week. – Paul
"Oh, if we did but study half as much to affect and amend our own hearts, as we do those of our hearers…" – Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor
I remember well the moment as a young pastor, when I sat at my desk in front of an open Bible, finally wrestling with the question I should have asked all along; Would I be reading this if I wasn't afraid that someone would inquire about my 'devotional life'?
The sad conclusion I came to that day was "No… probably not." I was in the Bible multiple times per week, preparing lessons and sermons. But when it came to reading God's Word for my own soul, for my own enjoyment … no wonder I felt like I was trying to draw water out of a dry and dusty well.
We are so often driven to Scripture out of need. But unfortunately, it's rarely the need of our own hearts or souls that drive us. We need something to teach others, something to preach to the crowd, something to say to someone in crisis.
Simply to feast
We pastors are like starving chefs, working diligently to prepare the best meals we can for others while our own souls run the risk of withering away.
We too rarely approach the table simply to feast on what God has prepared for us. We rarely come to Scripture with our own hearts in mind.
Why? Because we too rarely approach the table simply to eat, to enjoy, to feast on what God has prepared for us. We rarely come to Scripture with our own hearts in mind.
Worse, the way we approach the place of Scripture in our lives is often in direct contradiction to the Gospel of grace we preach. We feel driven by duty or a sense that God will only bless our lives and our ministries if we are diligent in prayer and in the Scriptures.
And so, like those trying to earn the favor of a capricious god, we reluctantly open the Bible, read our daily passage, and then get on with our day, feeling as though we have checked off one more box required of us. We have done our duty.
But what if we honestly believed that we were only "beggars showing others beggars where to find bread"? What would be different?
Those who love to eat
How much of your interaction with Scripture is driven by love and not duty? How much of the prayer and reading you do is driven by a love for the God who loves you and gave himself up for you… and not a desire to please an imaginary god who decides how well things will go for you this week based on how many boxes of devotion you can check off?
The best chefs are those who love to eat, who love the flavor and aromas and cook with the same care and attention whether they are cooking for a crowd or simply for themselves.
The best chefs are those who love to eat, who love the flavor and aromas and cook with the same care and attention whether they are cooking for a crowd or simply for themselves. That love shows in their cooking—they flavor by taste, finding just the right combinations not from a recipe book but with their own taste buds. The worst are those who cook strictly by-the-numbers for a paycheck and are content with boxed mac and cheese when they are alone.
In the same way, the best pastors are those driven to Scripture first and foremost by a love for God and a desire to know Him better. That love shows in everything they do.
This week, come to Scripture and the God who reveals Himself in it for yourself.
This week, come to Scripture and the God who reveals Himself in it for yourself. Refuse the temptation to create sermon outlines as you read, to think about how much so-and-so really to needs to hear this, to feel as though you are doing your duty. Read a different translation than you normally do. Read from a different Bible than the one you prepare from. Ask God to speak to you through His Word, not for the sake of others- not for the sake of anyone but yourself.
And don't worry. The one who consistently comes to Scripture for him or herself will rarely lack when it comes time to prepare something for others.
Bob Hyatt is a writer and pastor of the Evergreen Community in Portland, Oregon.
