My amazing father, Randy Phillips, passed on to be with the Lord a few
weeks ago, and with his passing I lost a hero, a mentor, a sage, a counselor,
brother, a best friend… I would be remiss to speak in remembrance of him
without referring to the “Word of Truth” which he loved with all his heart and
soul.
In 2 Peter chapter 1, Peter writes to his fellow believers saying: “Whereby
are given to us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you may be
partakers of the Divine Nature” (2 Peter 1:4) By reading and studying God’s Word,
you will become more like it’s Author, he’s saying. By getting to know the
qualities and attributes of God better, one can, in a limited way, become more
and more like their Savior. It’s human nature that spending a lot of time with
“a thing” often brings about an adaptation in a person towards that “thing.”.
It happens all around us in different ways: kids that watch a lot of television
shows depicting arrogant, sarcastic children tend to become more arrogant and
sarcastic in their dealings with others in real life; little boys (of any age)
that listen to music which talks of women as inanimate objects of male
gratification often tend to be very disrespectful towards the women that they
happen upon in real life. When a man or woman reads, studies, memorizes, and
meditates upon the Eternal Words of the Eternal God they tend to take on
qualities like love toward others, joyfulness, tranquility of mind and soul,
patience and forbearance toward others, goodness, faith towards the Words of
God, strength of will and moral character, and self control in all things (see
Galatians 5:22-23).
My later father was a man who spent much time in the reading, studying,
memorizing, and meditating on of God’s Words, and it showed in his actions;
from the big, life changing decisions, down to the smallest most mundane
things. Spending so much time getting to know the ways of the Eternal God
through the Word which He has revealed caused him to acquire qualities of
wisdom, knowledge, judgement, and discernment to an almost incredible degree.
His life was truly a testimony to the “exceeding great and precious promises”
of God’s Word in that he truly was a “partaker of the Divine Nature.”
So in my Dad’s stead, I will challenge you with something that he certainly
would have himself, if he’d had the privilege of meeting and conversing with
you. I would encourage any follower of Christ with a heart to know their Savior
even better, with this verse: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and
John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled,
and took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:12) These
men of the Sanhedrin, doctors of the Law, learned, articulate and educated…were
astounded at the depth of the knowledge that these “ignorant” uneducated
blue-collar workers showed in their dissection of the Old Testament.
Necessarily, it was because Jesus often “opened the scriptures” in order to
teach them about Himself, and even they (the Doctors of the Law) were forced to
admit this. It’s not your training, or lack thereof, in theology or any other
type of discipline that truly makes the difference; rather, it’s how much time
you spend with Jesus, listening to His Word.
“O how I love Thy Law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97
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