A Matter of Life and Death
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4 NIV)
Luke was a physician. That, in itself, gives us a few clues to his personality. He was a stickler for detail. He was highly intelligent. He was a scientist, intent on close scrutiny and intense study in his search for the truth. These facts about Luke are again revealed in these verses, as he says, "Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." A lot of people had written about Jesus and the occurrences surrounding His life and death. Luke had read them all. He wanted to know the truth. In the true fashion of the physician and scholar, he had sought out every piece of evidence he could about Jesus, then had assembled it all in an orderly fashion in order to prove the truth to others.
So many people believe that they can be good Christians without ever reading the Bible. After all, faith is believing in things we cannot see, right? We can learn about God from other believers, right? We can learn about God from His creation, right? We can learn about God just by living, right? All of these things are right enough. However, if God didn't think it was important that we know everything we could about Him, why did He spend so much time giving His Word to men to write down? Why did He make sure that the holy Scriptures remained with us, even though every form of logic says that they should have been lost through the passage of time? Why is the Bible such a big book? Because God wanted you and me to know everything we could comprehend about Him. He wanted us to see that He was the Creator and has been with man throughout the centuries. He wanted us to see that you and I are no different from the legions of others that have gone before us. And He wanted us to understand, not only his fierce wrath and judgment, but He wanted us to understand His incredible, never-ending love.
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Start taking time out of your busy life to get to know Him through His Word. Let Him show you Who He is and who He wants you to be. Be blessed by the communion you can have with Him in reading His Word. Make it a part of your day -- every day. It's a matter of life and death.
"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Acts 17:11
From Newsong Ministries
Newsong6@bellsouth.net
Used with permission.
