I love the Bible, I do. There is nothing like interacting with God through His written revelation to mankind.

I love all of it, the narrative, the prose, poetry and prophecy. It is the truth, the only truth. From beginning to end, the portions that seem to be a long trip to the wood shed, alongside the passages that celebrate God’s love and grace towards us.

Every single word, is as it was from His lips in the beginning, creating new life in the reader.

The more I study the Scripture, the more I realize what the sages of old meant when they wrote that scripture defines scripture.

That text in its context is most simply defined, and that throughout the Word themes and principles are repeated giving a greater depth of understanding.

That a man doesn’t need a doctorate in theology or to be fluent in Greek to gain great insight to understand even the most difficult passages. All a reader needs is the Spirit of God to enlighten his or her heart and mind, and to seek to know God.

Yet, Proverbs 25:2 says “ It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

That is to say,  that God’s majesty is displayed in that He is past finding out, however it is a worthy cause to try.

The God of heaven, creator of the sun, moon, and the stars, is too glorious to be contained in the human mind. Yahweh, who appeared to Moses in a burning bush, and when asked for a monicker by which He might be recognized, gave, the self-existent all encompassing, reply “I am.”

He, holy and just, righteous and merciful in all His judgements, is so wise and beyond our capacity to understand, that He can hide revelation in plain sight. And in doing so, see who will seek Him.

But why? Why would God hide something?

Solomon says, that it is His glory to conceal or veil these things. I believe it’s a divine invitation.

Many have found that day in and day out they read the Book about Him but it was altogether different the day they met Him.

This is where the portion of the text invites us to find a greater depth of life, a glory or honor, in seeking the deep or hidden things about God. The truths that can be found out not by merely reading alone but by living. Matters, matters of the heart, matters of life, not found on the surface of the words on a page.

These matters are found concealed in understanding the mind or thoughts of God concerning the what and why of our existence and purpose.

Even more important than that is to know what may be know of who God is, and to think thoughts that are pleasing in His sight.

Again and again, God invites us in scripture to take action. To seek, knock, search, obey, pursue, wait and even be still, all for the purpose that we might know Him.

What an amazing invitation and even more so, what a worthwhile pursuit.  As I stated at the beginning, I love to study the Bible.

I have come to find, though, knowing Him goes deeper than paper and ink. Realizing this is the greatest honor of the Christian, to pursue Him with all I am.

The author A.W. Tozer once wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Could it be that we miss God’s will for our lives?

David Malcom is the pastor of Trinity Gospel Church. He can be contacted at davidmalcom75@gmail.com.