Going Straight to the Source

I love to read and learn.  The area I most want to learn and grow in is my faith and understanding of Christ’s Kingdom.  When I listen to the wise clergy at my church, I’m inspired to understand what they know about the life of Jesus and how we are to live as citizens of his Kingdom on Earth.

I’ve been reading books, articles, and other sources as I’m soaking up everything I can about our faith and God’s promises for us.  While these writings certainly have wisdom to impart, it recently occurred to me that I could also go straight to the source and learn about Christ in his own words.   So, a few days ago I started reading the New Testament again.

As I opened the Gospel of Matthew, I conciously decided to read slowly.  I only read the first two chapters that day, and have read one chapter per day for the past week.  Instead of rushing through and seeing how much I could read in a sitting, I’ve been reading slowly, prayerfully, reflectively.  On Sunday, while drinking my coffee and enjoying reading in the brillant sunshine, I finished a chapter and just sat in stillness for awhile.

Savoring the Word of God and letting myself read slowly is new to me.  Instead of striving to read and learn at my pace, I’m peacefully reading and rereading sections with an openess to what God is going to teach me, in his time.