The Egg ... Or Hiding God's Word In Your Heart

Please don't tell our pastor, but sometimes my mind wanders during church. Don't worry - it's not thinking about what we're having for lunch or what time the mall closes. It's nothing silly like that.

It's my own curiosity. When we're reading a passage of Scripture during the message, I often have to follow the cross references that are listed down the middle of each page. For some reason I'm desperate to know what each one says and how it applies to the verse we're in right now.

That page you heard flipping? It's probably mine.

While we were in John 15 recently, I couldn't help but follow some of the cross references and translation notes around the verses about the vine and the branches. We've all read this passage numerous times, but I still just had to know where the verses led.

And then, as we arrived at John 15:5, I suddenly saw something that I had never seen before. Don't you love it when that happens?

You may have seen this or heard this before, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the reason we were reading those verses in the service. But it jumped out as if had been highlighted in neon lights.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:7

The Word of God is like the yolk of an egg. It's the most dense part, filled with most of the nutrients that come from eating them. It's also where the life comes from. That yellow yolk would have been the baby chicken if it had been fertilized. It had everything necessary right there for the creation of a new little life.

Scripture is exactly the same. It's dense and filled with so much truth that we'll never learn and understand it all. It's the most nutritious book we could ever read, giving us everything we need not just to survive but to thrive. And in it is everything we need for eternal life.

John 15:7 says the Word should be in us, so that makes us the white of the egg. If you look at the ratio of white to yolk in this picture, you'll notice that the yolk takes up more than half of the entire egg. And when it's heated to boiling, it becomes firm and solid right there in the middle of the white.

God's Word does the same thing inside of us. When we let it, it will fill our being with truth, hope, joy and peace. When we're in the heat of the moment, Scripture becomes the firm, solid foundation that we need to be victorious throughout our lives.

Finally, we are then abiding in God, just like the entire egg is housed inside that shell. The shell keeps everything in place, keeps it safe and peels gently away, allowing us to consume the tasty insides.

Our loving heavenly Father wraps us in the protection of His loving arms, just like that egg shell. He keeps everything in our lives in place, working our situations for our good and His glory. And when the moment is right, He steps back and enjoys our delight in what His perfect will has brought about.

I will never read this Scripture the same way again. Or eat an egg the same way again. And that's for the best.