What it Means to Grow in the Word

While studying in the Holy Land, a seminary professor met a man who claimed to have memorized the entire Old Testament in Hebrew. So the professor asked the man if he could give a demonstration. The man agreed, and the two met at the man’s home. The professor took out his Hebrew Old Testament as the man asked, “Where shall we begin?” “Psalm 1,” replied the professor, who was an avid student of the Psalms. And beginning with Psalm 1, the man began to recite from memory while the professor followed along. For two hours, the man continued without a single mistake as the professor sat stunned. When the demonstration was over, the professor discovered something even more shocking about the man. He wasn’t a Jew nor a Christian, but an atheist. He knew the Scriptures better than most Christians ever will, and yet they had done nothing to change his life because he simply didn’t believe them. Knowledge of God doesn’t always lead to maturity in the faith. Countless people know the Scriptures up and down yet simply don’t apply them to their lives. But the person who knows one verse and applies it is more spiritually mature than the one who knows many and applies none. Yes, know the Bible. But more importantly, apply it to your life. That’s what it means to be mature in the Word of God!