Now that we have learned about the nature and necessity of reading God’s Word, how can I safely navigate this journey? If you have really been saved, within you there is a desire for God and His Word. You must feed this desire.

During the time when Socrates was the chief philosopher of his time, many, many young men wanted to become his students. The story is told of a certain young man who came to the great teacher and asked to become his disciple.

Socrates responded, “Follow me.”

Socrates walked until he came to the seashore. He walked into the breaking surf and the young man followed obediently behind him. Finally, when the philosopher reached a point where his head was barely out of the water, he turned to his would- be student. While the young man wondered what this lesson was all about, Socrates grabbed his head and pushed him under the water.

Trying to learn and respect his teacher, the student held his breath and tried to remain still. After a while, with his lungs bursting for air, he began to flail about and finally the teacher let him go. In a burst of anger, the young man shouted, “What were you doing? You were trying to kill me.” Socrates answered, “When you want to learn as badly as you want to breathe, I’ll be your teacher.”

As we have learned, the Word of God is our life. We must desire it as we desire food and air! We won’t be disciplined if we don’t have this desire.