Pursue the Word
Are you in hot pursuit of what it means to love God and others?
For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. Ezra 7:10
After preparing his heart, Ezra then studied the Law of God. Don’t let the word study mislead you. The Hebrew word indicates not merely the gathering of information about God’s Word but a hot pursuit of the Law of Love for the purpose of transformation. Ezra intensely pursued the Word of God with the intention to practice loving God and others. He was not like the teachers of the Law whom Jesus exposed in Matthew 23:2-3: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you— but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”
If we’re willing to linger in their light, Jesus’ words will expose us, too. Preachers and teachers are prone to pursue God’s Word for the purpose of proclaiming it to others more than for the personal practice of loving God and others. Paul said that the “aim of our instruction is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). We, too, must pursue the transformation of the hearts of both preacher and people, not merely the transmission of head-knowledge from preacher to people.
As you study, are your sights set on powerful preaching more than personal practice? Are you aiming for transformation or merely airing information? How will this understanding of study change the way you prepare to preach or teach this week?
