Okay, Okay, I know that Jesus is supreme, almighty, and literally God of the whole universe and probably has not taken the enneagram, myers-briggs, or love languages test. (Even though he is all of them at the same time, wild.) But I have been learning a lot recently that a relationship with Jesus is built off of quality time with Him, just like any other relationship.
With every friendship, you build intimacy by being around that other person through shared experiences. When you have laughed together, have memories and inside jokes with one another, and shared your heart with one another, you begin to feel like you know that person, they know you, and you have a desire to spend more time with them. You crave their presence.
I'm starting to learn that the same can be said of Jesus. Yes, He is my savior. Yes, He is my Lord. Yes, He is holy, perfect, and worthy of praise. But he is also my friend. I am learning that when I spend time with Jesus through prayer and study of scripture, He delights in that. It brings him joy. Jesus LIKES me. He LIKES spending time with me. He cherishes that time. He loves that time. He meets me in that time and rejoices because a beloved daughter of the king is reading the words he wrote for her and he gets to reveal himself to her. In that moment, He feels chosen, loved, and delighted in. How beautiful is it that the Lord allows us to bring him joy by being spending time with him? We can bring God JOY simply by spending time with him. WHAT!!
So yeah, I would argue that God's love language is quality time. And that is a beautiful thing.
But here's the catch; what does quality time with Jesus even look like?
As some of you may know, about a month ago I moved to Branson, Missouri to attend the Kanakuk Institute. Oh boy, has it been a TIME. I have been learning so much! One thing we have been learning is how to study scripture and the importance of doing so. We have been learning the Inductive Bible Study Method, a method that is used to look and study scripture more deeply. It has been transformational for me in understanding God's Word better!
So here's the basics:
Step 1: Observation
This is the easy one. Literally read the passage and write down what you see. Do not try to interpret or read into anything to much. Take everything at face value and write it down. Read and reread and then reread again; looking for the 5 W's and H of the passage: the who, what, where, when, why, and how. Spend a lot of time here and see what God's word says!
Step 2: Interpretation
Here, you are figuring out what the text means. To help you do this, you can look at the context of the scripture, cross reference the verse with other similar verses throughout scripture, and also use biblical commentaries
on what other people are saying about the passage!
Step 3: Application
It's go time people! Here is where you can take what you have learned and put it into practice! You can ask yourself "What does the truth of this scripture mean for me today?" or "What does this verse tell me to do?" or "What does this verse tell me about Jesus?" or "How can this verse transform how I think and live?". This step is fun because we finally get to live out what we learn! SO FUN!
These are three easy steps that I have started to use that help me not only understand scripture better, but help me love Jesus more because I understand his Word better. Studying the bible can be big, scary, and daunting. But these steps have made it a lot more simpler and has made the effort worth it. Jesus wants to be known and if we allow him, he will reveal himself to us through his scripture.
You are so loved by the Creator and He desires to be known by you. What are you doing today that has helped you know Jesus better? What has your time in the Word looked like?
I challenge you to try this method for one week. Pray, ask the Holy Spirit to meet you in the process, and be expectant at what the Lord has for you. Lean in to the process. Lean in to the details. It will change your life, piece by piece.
Jesus is an author and he desires to be read.
Jesus, thank you for your Word. Thank you for loving time with your kids. May we be faithful in spending time with you, our heavenly Father and may we love you more because of it. Meet us in our broken attempts to love you and reveal yourself to us Jesus. We LOVE you.
And thanks for loving quality time. I love it too :)
Comments