Cherishing God’s Word

How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Psalm 119:103

In his famous volume How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler notes the one time when everyone reads as they should: when reading a love letter. They read it over and over, between the lines and in the margins, taking into account context, insinuation, and implication. Words, phrases, punctuation, and style—all are important to the person in love. A love letter is the most cherished writing in the world.

Isn’t it ironic that the world’s greatest love letter has not been more cherished by those to whom it was written? The Bible can be rightly viewed as God’s love letter to mankind—a disclosure of His love, a record of His sacrifice for His beloved bride, a promise of His faithfulness and fidelity.

How many of us still have shoeboxes filled with letters and cards from the days of our courtship, still savored after so many years? Our hearts and passions are stirred afresh when we read them, just as they would be if we pored over God’s letter to us with equal fervor.

Next time you open your Bible, read it as a love letter from God to you and see what a difference it makes. To give God’s words the honor they are due is to cherish them above all others.