Slow, Steady, Scripture

An old shepherd was tending his flock and noticed a tiny stream of water trickling down the side of a hill. He followed the stream to a ledge where the water dripped onto a big stone. Though the rock was barely wet, the center was nearly hallowed out. The steady drip of water, year after year, had carved a hole in the center of the rock.

The shepherd realized that the rock was changed by the small, steady exposure to water. If the same amount of water had washed over the rock all at once, the boulder would have remained unchanged. The steady drip of water over a long period of time is what brought change.

I wonder if our study of the Bible works in a similar way. We are changed by a constant, steady exposure to the scriptures over a long period of time. We are washed in the Bible in worship services. We are flooded with the scriptures at the holidays. But, we are transformed when God’s word is a steady, consistent part of our everyday lives.

In Psalm 119, the Psalm writer says, “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” The Psalmist lives a lifestyle of meditating and considering and delighting in God’s word. The scriptures are a steady, daily drip of life saving and life changing water.

As you go through the coming week, let the waters of Christian scripture become a steady part of your life. Let the Lord transform you from the inside out, through the scriptures.  Years down the road, we will look back at the effects of its living water and see miracles.