Deep water and studying the Scriptures

Have you ever looked out over a large body of water as the sun rises or sets? The water can look magnificent with the shining light beaming across the glittering waves. From the shore you may be able to make out the direction of the current if the water is a river, or perhaps make out a distant sandbar or drop off if it is a lake, sea, or the ocean. With all the beauty your eyes can behold, you've only just begun to get a glimpse of the water. 

How deep does that water go down? How fast is it moving? Is it moving at all? Is the water warm? How far will you be able to wade into the water before it would be at your ankles, your knees, your waist? 

Looking out over the picturesque scene is one way of appreciating, and knowing the water. But it is surely the most introductory way of knowing the water. Your eyes can see a good deal farther than you can touch. Your eyes and observations from a distance have limitations. 

What if you did something crazy, and you began to walk closer to the water? What if you took off your shoes to let your feet feel the warmth of the sun on the sand? Could you experience something different, something more by wading into the water? The experience would give you a much deeper understanding by going into the water rather than simply looking from a distance. 

Often in our reading of God's Word, we only take a brief initial reading of a passage. Like driving in a car that is going around a bend near the shoreline, we only get but a moments glimpse of the water. That initial reading is helpful, it's certainly better than not reading at all. Yet it's not to be compared to moments spent thinking, conversations had discussing, and prayers given to God over that same passage. 

As you wade into the water, and it rises up around you, the power of the water is felt. Your own weight and movement changes with the embrace of the waves around you. The water is no longer distant, but something tangibly interacting with your life. What once was a curiosity, has become a present reality. The force of the water, it's persistence and consistency are something you would not have ever been able to appreciate from the shore. 

Contemplating God's Word brings with it many overwhelming experiences of its own. What once may have been trite sayings, or cliches become truths of great consequence. Self and ego are checked as the
force of God's truth crashes into your pride. Like an invisible undercurrent, the work of God in His Word is powerful and real. 

Bible study can sometimes be droll. But I've witnessed in my time plenty of people on the beach arguing, complaining, and generally having a bad time. Both of these phenomena, the droll Bible study and the foul beach attitude, are more testaments to the participants than the scenery. In both circumstances the level of appreciation and desire of the people involved weigh heavily upon the experience. 

How deep is the water? Will it be warm or cold? How will the truth of the scriptures open my eyes today? What more of God's character and mercy to me will I see in this passage? Some passages can be terrifying like a storm causing a great maelstrom, others are more comforting than a refreshing cool swim in the heat of summer. 

All the vast depths of God's immeasurable goodness are on display in the scriptures. Each day, like a glorious sunrise or sunset over the water, we are invited to look, and then take a "deep dive" into the waves of truth in God's word. 

Is your own experience of Bible study more like a brief look out a car window at the ocean, or more like a swimmer ready for total immersion?