How blessed to be able from the heart to say this, and not to be as those who think God’s Word a “dry book!” The following little incident is written to encourage young believers especially to study it for themselves, and to seek to understand its contents.
A young Christian, who was in the habit of reading a few verses privately night and morning, woke one Sunday repeating over to herself this verse: “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.” As she dressed, every now and then the words passed through her mind. At last she stood still in the room, saying to herself, “What do those words mean, I don’t know.” And then she remembered reading them the evening before.
“How can I,” she thought, “bear about in my body the dying of Jesus.” She went down on her knees, and asked the Lord to teach her the meaning of the words, feeling that He must want her to know, by their being so impressed upon her mind.
She was staying with friends at the time, some miles from the little meeting which they attended, and to which they drove each week. After reaching it that Sunday, while assembled together, a perfect stranger to her arose to address the company; and what was her surprise to hear him begin to read the very chapter which contained the verse that was so much on her mind (2 Cor. 4:1010Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:10)). Not only did he read it, but spoke especially of it. Imagine, dear young believer, how she listened, feeling that every word was an answer to her prayer. And so it was, for He who knew the hearts of both speaker and hearer, had by His Spirit guided the one to speak, and the other there to hear and learn. But it is not to explain the meaning of the verse that this little true incident is told, but that some may be encouraged to seek that wisdom from above when reading the Scriptures, and which will be given liberally by the same Lord, for does He not still live to intercede for, and to answer the longing desires of His own, whether young or old?
Then indeed will they not only read, but “rejoice at His Word,” and find from it “great spoil.”
May we, who have by His grace been taught to love Him, “as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” (1 Pet. 2:22As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1 Peter 2:2)).