Gardening the Soul: Habitual Drinkers

As young Christians, Cathy and I were challenged to commit a realistic amount of time to drink daily from God's word—we settled on five minutes. As we were developing our habit, there were many nights we fell into bed exhausted, turned out the lights, and one of us would ask: "Have you had your five minutes today?" If one or both of us had not, the lights would come back on, and we would spend some time communing with God. I am thankful our pledge was small. If our promise had been 25-30 minutes of time with God, the bedtime question—“Have you had your five minutes?"--would  have never been asked, and the budding habit would have dropped to the ground without bearing fruit.

I am not suggesting that five minutes of Bible reading will adequately water a life anymore than morning dew will sustain a garden. When Isaiah proclaims that God's feast can be enjoyed by those who have no money, he wasn't implying that it has no cost. He asks: Why spend your labor on what is not bread? Our labor is the admission fee to this feast. Every summer I spend countless hours dragging hoses all over my yard watering bushes, trees, and gardens. Could the watering of my life require any less effort? The five minutes was a daily minimum designed to establish a habit. I won't regularly hear God's voice unless I discipline myself to diligently study his word--meditatively, repeatedly, prayerfully. As I study a section of the Bible, I read it several days in a row. I listen to the same section on my CD player while driving in the car. I listen to it on my Bible Ap while I walk. The simple vow that Cathy and I made forty years ago has grown into a steady, all life rain for our souls.

Not long ago I received the student evaluations for my Introduction to the Bible class. One question asked: "What did you appreciate most about the course?" Several students reported that the highlight was the assigned reading in the Bible. At first I was disappointed -- "What about my great lectures? What about my mature, Christian model? What about my scholarship?" But as I thought further, I was elated. My highest hope for students is to connect them to God through his word. It is God's word that causes lives to bud and flourish. It is God's word that is an imperishable seed, perennially sprouting new growth. It is God's word that is more precious than gold or silver. It is God's word that carries divine power to demolish strongholds. It is God's word that will cause us to be thoroughly equipped for every good work. It is God's word that can slice through the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” And I want my students to be most impressed with my lectures?! "No! No! No!" A thousand times "No!"