Frogs are fascinating creatures. They come equipped with an amazingly accurate tongue that can snag all manner of flying food. However, there is a problem. If there is no flying food they will starve to death. We can put all kinds of nutritious morsels in front of them but if it isn’t moving they will not eat it. In an age of constant media saturation with flashing lights, stirring sounds, blazing pictures and the best media producers in the world filling our senses, I wonder if a Bible sitting quietly on our bedside table can catch our attention. I wonder if we have become frogs when it comes to our spiritual diet.
It is difficult for John, a Galilean fisherman, with little education to compete with 21st century media. Mark Zuckerberg, the developer of Facebook, is the world’s youngest billionaire because corporations pay him very large amounts of money to advertise on Facebook. Corporate executives know where our eyes are and pay a lot to catch our attention. So just how would Matthew, a first century tax collector, get us to notice what he wrote? If it were not for one very important advantage that Matthew and John have, it would be a lost cause. Their writing would fade into the abyss of historical writing. However, their advantage is something no media expert could ever seek to match. It is called the Holy Spirit.
The very same Spirit that moved Matthew and John to write their incredible accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry moves upon our hearts twenty centuries later. When we see our Bibles and feel a tug to open and read, that isn’t just idle curiosity or guilt, it is the Holy Spirit Himself wooing us. We must not ignore it.
Written by Roger Bothwell on February 25, 2011
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org