Hungry to Know



Acts 19:1-7
1And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
2And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”
5On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
7There were about twelve men in all.

My church is associated with some missionaries who serve in Africa. Their spreading of the Gospel mirrors the events in Acts in several striking ways and far more accurately than does my own. During one of their reports here in the States they showed a picture of a man walking along the road, shaking an empty Coke can. I was so taken by this story I can still see that picture in my mind’s eye. In that Coke can the man had placed a rock, creating for himself a small rhythm instrument. As he walked along he recited to himself the page of the Scriptures he has memorized the day before. He was the “pastor” for his tribe. Since they had no copy of the Word for his tribe he would walk to a village that possessed a copy and then memorize a page to take back to his own tribe. The homemade rhythm instrument served as a help in the memorization / recitation process. His people were so hungry to know the Gospel they learned it one page at a time and relished what they were able to have. That’s commitment.

When I read of the openness of the Ephesians to learn the truth I am moved to remember those African believers who just want to know as much as they possibly could, despite difficult circumstances. Then I take a look around my office and count more copies/translations of the Bible than I care to admit, not to mention the electronic versions I can carry with me at all times. And yet do I hunger after the truth with the same fervor? Maybe not. Maybe since I don’t have to work for it I’m complacent and even lazy about my acquisition of the Word. I wouldn’t even know how to begin to memorize a page of the Bible to share with others. And here’s the blessing – I don’t have to. God has filled my life with His Word. And it’s not even an incomplete Word such as the Ephesians had. They didn’t even know that the Messiah had come and completed His forgiving work. They had never even heard of the Holy Spirit! But Paul comes along and shares the rest of the story with them and they receive it with joy. They are hungry to know and God quenches that hunger with His truth.

The Tribe Receives Their Bibles!
It is my prayer for all of us that we would be continually hungry to know more about the Lord. I pray that we are never satisfied that we know God well enough and can relax. But I am also overjoyed to know that I have the complete Word of God at my disposal. I’m not waiting for further revelation. Everything God wants us to know rests on the pages of the Bible we hold in our hands. As for that man with his Coke can? Our congregation sent a copy of the Bible in their own language for every member of his tribe. They now study the Word together. I pray for those people too, that their hunger persists and draws them deeper into the Lord every day.

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