I was blessed to attend a Bible study group this week for the first time. As a teacher, it is a rare treat to have someone pour into me for a change. The worship was uplifting, the fellowship was sweet, and the message was timely: the Love of God. The speaker took us through several of the attributes of God’s love and she ended by leading us all through “Jesus Loves Me.” Yes, that is a sweet little song we teach to our children, but let me assure you, it is equally applicable to adults. There is something specials about singing that song with a group of seasoned ladies who have leaned on God’s love through the highs and lows of life.
But something interesting happened. Did you know that there are more verses to that song than we teach our babies? Do you know the words to all those verses? I don’t and neither did most of the ladies there. So we Googled the song. We all knew the first verse – no problem. And we all referred to our phones for the second verse – still good. And then we came to the third verse and we were not all on the same version. Suddenly most of us dropped out and let the leader sing a solo.
What happened? We looked to the world for the words. We trusted the internet to fill in the holes in our song. The lesson was clear to me. Trust no one else but God for truth. Sure it was just a verse in a simple, little song, and the words we pulled up were not blasphemous – they were just not the right words. But words – or rather The Word – matters. Paul urged Timothy to stay in the Scriptures that are the very breath of God (2 Tim 3:14-17). Peter confirmed that the Scriptures are given to man by the Holy Spirit – they are trustworthy and true. They are always the right words.
You may be tired of me beating the Berean drum, but it cannot be stressed enough – always, always, always take everything you hear and everything you read and lay it alongside the Bible and see if it is true (Acts 17:11). Do not take anyone’s word for truth if it does not agree with the living Word of the living God. Too much is at stake to be misled, even by one little, seemingly insignificant word.
Beloved, be a student of the Scriptures. Get to know God’s Word for yourself so that you do not fall for the wrong verse in the song. Because Jesus does love you, and you need to know it.
Deeper Roots 