Cart Before The Horse

teaching - Cart before the Horse

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching . . . one another. Colossians 3:16

I (David) can distinctly remember when God used today’s Scripture passage to teach me a life-changing lesson on what to do with His Word. Too much of my training and too many of my mentors had encouraged me to look in the Word for what “those” people need. The Holy Spirit clearly convicted me with the verse’s exhortation to “let the word of Christ dwell in you”! I needed to focus more on the Word for me, not the Word for others.

The Spirit caught my attention as I read the word dwell. How was I to let the Word of God reside, live, or dwell in me? I had memorized Scripture for years and preached sermons on every book of the Bible, but I wasn’t sure that the Word lived in me. The Spirit of God prompted these thoughts: For God’s Word to dwell in me, I must be living it out. It must have made an impact on my behavior. For God’s Word to dwell in me, it must so permeate my being and dwell in my heart that it changes my life.

The Lord’s final challenge stopped me cold. The order of words in the Colossians passage seemed important. Before I could teach someone else with all wisdom, I had to have the Word of Christ dwelling in me. In other words, before I was equipped to teach anyone else, God had to do a work in my life and change me. I started thinking about how many times I stood to teach compared to how many of Christ’s words were living in me. My heart was humbled.

My words of instruction sound much different now. I now share with Teresa and with others what God has done in me as I have lived out His Word.

Which of Christ’s words does He want to see dwelling in you today?