I can’t tell you when I fell in love with God’s Word. As a child, I attended Sunday School and read Bible stories like anyone else. And they were just that, stories. I can’t tell you exactly when the word of God became essential to my being; when I began to look forward to reading it every day; when it became essential to me.

Perhaps, it was when the words began to impact me specifically and not generally. I would study the Word and it would be relevant to my circumstances and challenges. It became an active and responsive thing. And no, it wasn’t some variation of lotto where I’d drop the Bible on the bed and take the first random thing that opened up as gospel truth! After all, the Word of God is not a diviner’s stone. But, in my daily readings, God began to speak to me.

The subject didn’t matter – Relationships, work, family, sadness – there was always a word for me. I remember I used to muse in difficult times, “If only I can spend some time listening to God and reading the Word, I’ll find the answer”. And so, the Word of God became my comfort, direction and instruction (this part I resisted:)). It began to shape my character and worldview; opening up my mind. My brain virtually became prised open as ideas, intellect and inspiration poured in. It is assumed that I am intelligent, but very few people know I became more intelligent and discerning because of a consistent consumption of the Word of God. Nothing else has impacted my life like it.

Funny thing about the Word of God – being open-minded and reading other things enhances your understanding of it.

If you read poetry, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the Psalms. If you learn about the nomadic habits of shepherds, you’ll appreciate some of the factors that shaped King David’s youth. If you understand science, you’ll better appreciate Moses’ and Apostle Paul’s references to cosmology.

The Proverbs exhort us to “buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight”. You wouldn’t need to buy it, if it were free or could easily be downloaded from the internet. The most specialised courses, schools, research material etc. often need to be paid for or at the very least worked for. You must exchange something for it – time, effort, sacrifice or money. Wisdom is very precious and at a certain level the Word of God builds both your intellect and wisdom. Yes, the Holy Spirit gives insight and understanding, but it’s hard to communicate concepts and contexts that you don’t have any reference for. Don’t get me wrong. You’ll still be personally blessed by the Word, but your application of it in wider contexts e.g. Business, politics etc. will be severely limited. You’ll become one of those Christians that don’t make sense and can’t effectively function outside of Church.

If you cannot read and interpret the Word, then you are at the mercy of the one doing the reading to your hearing. Even when the Holy Spirit reveals a word to you, you will not have the intellectual base to effectively implement it. “In all thy getting, get understanding”.

One of the main reasons why I remain a born again Christian is because of an abiding love for God’s Word. I’m not a theologian and can’t tell you the specifics of how the Word became flesh, but I can testify of its life transforming power.”

I leave you with Apostle Paul’s prayer: “I ask — ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him — endless energy, boundless strength!

It would be my honour to tell you a little bit more about God, the intelligent one-on-one. Let’s begin a conversation: subomiplumptre@yahoo.com.

(Follow me @subomiplumptre or join the conversation at #MakingGodFamous,#ShoSpeaks)