Radical Stuff; pt 2

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Radical Appropriation
Appropriation: to take to, or for, oneself; take possession of

The Necessity: Take in God’s Word by every available means so that we might treasure it in our hearts and live it out in our lives. This means the purposeful and continual receiving of the nourishment of God’s Word and assimilating it into our lives so that it becomes a part of who we are. God’s Word, and Jesus himself, is often compared to food. Even the concept of meditation is best compared to certain animals eating their food and ‘chewing the cud’.

So, I wonder what would happen if we actually took this seriously? What if God’s Word was as important to us as our daily meals?

Around our house, one of the most frequent questions is, “What’s for supper tonight?” But, I rarely hear, “What are we reading from the Bible tonight?” Or, “Listen to what I read in the Bible today.”

We all know and say God’s Word is important, but our actions seem to prove otherwise.

Have you noticed that we will even plan our daily schedules around meal times? But, if we plan our lives around reading the Bible, we might be called ‘legalistic’? What if, throughout the day, we refused to eat our food until we read or meditated on something from the Bible? It may seem a little extreme, but God is calling for this type of ‘radical appropriation.’ (Well, we call it radical, but to God, it should be the norm for our lives.)

Psalm 1:2 is a clear description of radical appropriation. In this verse, appropriation is stated as "delighting in God’s law" (taking in God’s Word) and "meditating on it" (thinking on it, discussing it with others, studying its depths, etc). And the radical part is shown as the one who delights in and meditates on God’s Word "day and night," in other words, continually.

Again, I’ve got a long way to go…