How do we get to that place?
Happy, righteous, blessed, and perfect is the man on whom is the fear and dread of the mighty Lord, and who desires greatly to fulfill the command and teaching of God, as it is laid down in the canon of the Old and New Testaments.
– Vita Brendani, Irish, 17th century, from an earlier ms.[1]
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
– Psalm 1.1, 2
It is a measure of full faith in the Lord that we delight to spend time with Him in His Word.
Imagine that you are separated from your loved ones—on an extended trip or mission, let’s say—and the only way you can connect with them is via the mail. Day after day letters arrive. You receive each one, happy to be remembered and loved, and you set them together on the coffee table.
But you never take the time to read them. Or, having read them once, you feel no need to return and savor them again. Or to communicate your love and gratitude by replying.
What would such behavior say about your love for those who care so much for you that they faithfully, day after day, convey their love in the things they write? What does it say about our love for God, when we neglect His Word?
Celtic Christian leaders like Brendan (fl. ca. 560 AD) were serious about the Bible. They learned it as children, lived it as adults, preached it as missionaries, evangelists, and pastors, and copied and taught it diligently, to ensure that succeeding generations would never want for the Word of God.
Most of the hagiographical writings (saints’ lives) from this period include a passage like the one above, which opens the Life of Brendan. Readers—or listeners, as the case may have been—were to know from the beginning that the hero to be celebrated was above all else faithful in the Word of God. Indeed, a primary reason for these saints being remembered and revered was their commitment to knowing and living the teaching of Scripture.
Saints’ lives from this period use a good deal of embellishment, exaggeration, and hyperbole to emphasize the virtues and powers of their subjects; however, in this one area, commitment to the Word of God, we’re pretty sure they were telling it as it was.
Celtic Christians understood the connection between the Scriptures and the Kingdom of God. For them, becoming steeped in Scripture was the way to Kingdom happiness, righteousness, blessing, and perfection—just as the Bible says. We may think we can find fulfillment in things or experiences or other people or even our church. But we can’t, not the ultimate and complete fulfillment our souls require. The only place to gain the fullness of soul that each of us most deeply desires is by feeding on the Word of God as a daily regimen of grace and truth.
Saints like Brendan accomplished a great deal, and the vision and faith that moved and carried them came from their faithful reading and fervent trust in the Word of God. We will never see the kind of revival these saints experienced until, like them, we make daily commitment to the Word of God our great delight and guiding light.
Have you discovered the happiness, righteousness, blessedness, and increasing perfection that await you within the pages of God’s holy Word?
For Reflection
1. Would you describe your time reading God’s Word as a “delight”? Explain.
2. How might you improve your time in the Word, so that you realize more of the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom of God as a result?
Psalm 1.1, 2 (Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory)
Blessed the one who walks not in the counsel of ungodly men;
stands not in the path of sinners, joins not scorners in their sin.
But his joy is in the LORD’s law, and he meditates therein.
Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Getting into God’s Word
God wants us to feast on His Word, but we need to know what that entails. The better equipped we are for feeding on the Word, the more we will savor it and grow into Jesus. Our book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart can help you improve and deepen your time in the Word. Click here to learn more and to order your copy in book form, or click here for a free e-reader version.
Thank you.
Many of you are faithful and generous in praying for and supporting Crosfigell and The Fellowship of Ailbe. Thank you. May I encourage all our readers to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe? It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal or Anedot, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
T. M. Moore
All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[1] Plummer, p. 44.
