Jesus taught that all Scripture is about Him. In our reading and meditation, therefore, we must make sure that we’re looking for Jesus above all else. Today’s excerpt from The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart is found on pages 82 and 83:

“We are seeking to realize the precious and very great promises of God and to know more of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Put more succinctly, we are striving to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Is it clear to us what that means? Is your vision of the Kingdom clear and compelling? Do you love Jesus, even though you don’t see Him, so much that you long and hope, read, meditate, and study, to see Jesus clearly, and become more like Him every day?

“Nothing is more important in the life of faith than seeing Jesus, exalted in glory, and advancing His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This is a work of faith, by which, through searching the Scriptures, talking with others, and consulting other sources – such as books, hymns, works of art, and creation – we are able to gather an increasingly clear sense of the beauty, majesty, goodness, power, glory, truth, and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And seeing Him, we train our thoughts to grow into His mind, our heart to increase in His love, and our conscience to approve every aspect of His will. We must always pursue reading, meditation, and study of Scripture, mindful of the fact that Jesus is the central theme of the Bible, and we should seek Him throughout the pages of God’s Word.

At the same time, we want to discover the good works of Kingdom living which, as we do them this day, will help us to make progress toward Christlikeness and cause the invisible Kingdom of God to become visible in our times. We need to envision what the unfolding of Christ’s Kingdom will look like as we continue our journey in Him. How can righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, love for God and neighbor, and beauty, goodness, and truth increase through me today? We must keep in mind, as we are reading and meditating, the events and people we will be involved with each day. We should listen to the Word to instruct us in specific ways we might show Jesus to, and advance His Kingdom among, the people around us. How would God have us speak to them? What gesture or work of love can we perform? How can we improve our personal demeanor in every area of life, so that the glory of Christ can shine through us?

“This is what it means to ‘read to run.’”

For reflection or discussion
1. How clear and constant is the vision of Jesus in your mind?

2. What could you do to continue clarifying that vision and making it more constant in your mind?

Like those ancient Greeks that came to Philip, our desire must ever be to see Jesus. The more clearly and constantly we see Him, exalted in glory, the more His beauty, strength, goodness, and love will transform us to be like Him. And this is what we hope for in all our reading and study of Scripture. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to encourage each other in seeing Jesus. Your copy of The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart is waiting for you in The Ailbe Bookstore. 

T. M. Moore

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