Becoming a Christian has certainly brought some changes in me. I don’t think I’d be a great reader if I wasn’t a Christian – in Hungary, schools give you what they call “compulsory reading assignments”, i.e., you’ve got to read whole books that the school prescribe you to. Well, in my case they hadn’t always been read entirely. I didn’t like reading that much. And I don’t think the word “compulsory” helped, either…
Now I love books, especially those that help deal with my favourite subject: God. Currently I have 14 
books on the go. And that doesn’t include the Bible, commentaries and reading for my developing in the ministry. I’ve become a bookworm – a very slow one, granted (aren’t worms slow, too? – anyway…), but there’s in me a hunger to know more about God.
I don’t want you to misunderstand: I’m not an academic. But here’s what I’ve found: through everything that we read, our knowing of God is sharpened. I purposefully used bad English. I’m not simply talking about knowledge, but of knowing. Does what I’m reading line up with how I know God and what He’s doing? Is what this author is saying true? If yes, how? If not, why not? See, we get a sharper picture of Him as we use our God-given brains to understand Him better.
Ultimately, though, everything we know about God is from His Word. There is no other revelation from the mouth of God. We test everything against THE BOOK. If it doesn’t agree with the Bible, it’s false. Simple as that. Nothing is in the same league as the Bible. God, in His kindness, in order for us to get to know Him and get to know Him better by the day, stooped down to our level, using our language, words and grammar to reveal Himself to us. So we have in our hands a God-breathed book, and by its nature useful (cf. 2Ti 3:16-17). That’s why I get all excited about the words “for”, “therefore”, “but”, “however”, “and”, etc. in the Bible. In most other books, I don’t slow down to consider them. But in the Bible, these are God’s fors and therefores – why are they used? What is God saying in this passage? When we study the Bible, we get the privilege of observing the very mind of God. Extraordinary.
In all God’s people there is a hunger that is never satisfied: the hunger to know God more. It’s part of our make-up. “Like new born babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1Pe 2:2-3) “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (Jn 17:3) Eternal life is knowing God. When you repented and put your faith in Christ, you entered a never-ending journey. A journey which will increasingly show you what God is like. So make the most of this leg of the journey: study His self-revelation. Crave it. Take it in with all your might. It will feed you, though you’ll always want more. Thank God for that.
Calix Furus
Pastoral Elder
November 2016
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