The Very Words of God.

"Jews read the Bible the way a person reads a love letter. When you read a love letter, you don't just read it for content. You try and squeeze every last little bit of meaning out of it, e.g., Why did he sign it 'Yours' instead of 'Love'?" - Harold Kushner

I am trying to memorize the book of John. The whole thing. I got the idea driving home from the airport, fresh off my trip from Israel, and in the begginning, the excitement from that place spurred me on...

those first few days.

It has now been 3 months since coming home, and I have learned 21 verses from chapter 1.

21 verses.

In 3 months.

Hmmmm.

In Israel, we learned that Jesus, being a Rabbi, would have had the entire Torah (Gen-Deut.) memorized, along with most of the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures. All of them...

So what's my problem?

My problem is that I do not eat, sleep, and breathe the Word of God like my Rabbi did. My problem is that I started memorizing, studying, caring, much later than I could have. My problem is T.V. and friends and Dr. Mario and really good books. My problem is long long runs and writing letters.

My problem is a lot of really good things working as distractions against the most important thing.

Because no matter what I do with my life, if it isn't rooted, established, and grounded on the Word of God, then something's wrong.

Then I'm not being like my Rabbi.

And I want to be like Him.

So today, AGAIN, I remind myself what the begginning, middle, and end of my days should look like:

"These commandments I give you are to be upon your hearts...Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." - Deut. 6.

I remind myself that this Book, these words, are not work, but love, and that the Rabbi I follow, the one I desire to be like in every way, loved it well and wholeheartedly.

And so, again, today, I try to do the same.

"Turn it (the Torah) over and over again, for one can find everything in it." Ethics of the Fathers 5:22.