Vocabulary lessons

We have three five-year-old grandsons, all of whom started the grand adventure of kindergarten this week.  Even the fun is learning.

One of them came home with a list of "sight words," such as and, to, the, a, me, look, you, see.  He pulled the narrow sheet of paper from his backpack and read them out loud.

"That sentence doesn't make any sense," he declared.

Well, his mom explained, it is not really a sentence yet, but just words.  

As for this little child, he needs to learn these words -- these little building blocks -- and one by one they build understanding for what is to come.  And when they connect with other words, they begin to make sense, layering on each other to reveal what is deep and invisible and beyond our comprehension at the moment.

And next week, there will be another spelling list.  And then, another. 

This week he grasps these simple monosyllabic words, but he does not yet know how they will connect in a billion sentences yet to come.  Comprehension is not just in recognizing words by sight, but learning them by heart.  They mean something.

As with his little weekly spelling list, we need to learn the Word.  One verse by another builds understanding for what is to come, not just in Biblical knowledge but in life.  Not just about information but transformation.  The passages we read and write on our hearts today connect with other verses.  They enlarge our hearts and don't just begin to make sense, but realign our hearts, our thoughts, and our vision for what God is doing, for what God is redeeming, for what God has placed right in front of us today.  God spells out His faithfulness, not just in a collection of words, but by what changes us, even in ways we do not yet grasp.

What we experience today is in some way very different because we have spent time in God's Word. Circumstances may not change, but our hearts do.  We see and respond differently.  God reveals Himself to us.  Scripture passages, verses, and stories layer on each other to unfold what is deep and invisible and beyond our comprehension at the moment.

When I read the Bible, I will not understand everything, but I will understand something. And then a little more, and then a little more.   Not just of Scripture, but of knowing Him more.

 

Your Word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

                    Psalm 119. 109