GOD'S APPROVAL

II Tim. 2:15 Work hard so God can approve you. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.

It takes hard work to get to the point where you can correctly handle the Word of God. The Scriptures are not easy reading. You cannot read them like you might a novel or a newspaper. The mind and heart of God are very deep and require great effort on our part to even begin to understand. The Spirit helps us to understand many things, but He never goes deeper or faster than we can handle.

Much harm is caused by those who have a superficial knowledge of the Word. Many things are taken out of context and misapplied to suit personal tastes. Many times people will use the Word for their own advantage and purposes. Many things are taught that go contrary to the nature and heart of God. Many things spoken of by God are overlooked and never talked about. Many blessings of God are missed because of our ignorance or misuse of the Word.

We must commit ourselves to working hard at our quest for understanding of God, how we relate to Him, and how we relate to the world we live in. We are limited by our capacity to learn because we are human and not God, but we can do a much better job of it than we usually do. It takes a lot of hard work to become a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

How much effort do you put into growing in your understanding of the things of God? In an age in which many churches are cutting back on what they require of their people, we must be all the more diligent. We must take advantage of the many resources God gives us to learn. There is no valid excuse for us to be slothful in our efforts to be worthy servants of our Lord. Understanding never is gained by looking at a Bible that does nothing but gather dust between Sundays.