Look It Up In The Dictionary

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earning to read was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.  One of my aunts lived across the street from the elementary school where I attended first and second grade.  Although the school was only a few blocks from our house, it seemed as if it were on the other side of the world.  It was in that school that I had my first lessons and it was there that I first learned to love and appreciate the wonderful world of words.

A few months prior to beginning school, my first cousin taught me to read.  I was only five years old at the time but she decided that I should get a head start on my future classmates by learning to read before entering school.  We sat on her couch and opened a book.  The words looked so big and I didn’t understand what they meant. However, I soon learned that words were made of letters and that each letter had a particular sound.  As soon as I matched the shapes and the sounds together, I was able to sound out words.  Once this was accomplished, I progressed to whole words and sentences and, in a very short time, I learned to read.  My cousin was very proud of me and told me I had done a great job.  I thought it was neat and I read that book over and over.

My cousin, however, had no idea what she had started.  As I progressed through school, the material I had to read became more difficult.  I found myself constantly stopping at new words.  I could sound them out and I could read them but I didn’t know what they meant.  Each time I came to a new word, I would run to my mom or dad and ask them to explain to me the word’s meaning.  At first, they were eager to explain new words to me.  However, when I began asking questions every five minutes, my parents knew it was time I learned to use a dictionary.  My mom showed me my first dictionary. Our family purchased a good set of encyclopedias.  As a bonus, a two-volume dictionary came with the encyclopedias.  Each time I wanted to know the meaning of a new word, my mom had the same response, “Look it up in the dictionary!”

Everything I needed to know about words was in that book.  I learned how to locate words and to discover their meanings.  The dictionary was chock full of all kinds of things I never knew and I could easily spend a large amount of time learning new words and ideas.  That was the danger of the dictionary for me. Once I got into it, I found it hard to get out.  The more time I spent in the dictionary, the more I learned and the more I learned the more excited I became.

As I grew older and entered high school and college, the dictionary lost its allure.  I relied on my knowledge of words and ideas and was reluctant to search out anything new.  My college papers show the evidence of this reluctance to follow my parents’ advice and look things up in the dictionary.  A quick review of some of my papers demonstrates a slew of misspelled and misused words.  In addition, several of my professors commented that my papers were good but that they would be better if I took the time to verify the spelling of words and their definitions.

The New Testament book of John reveals the story of a man who needed a dictionary.  He was a very important political figure at the time of Christ who asked what is arguably one of the most important questions of the Bible.  History knows the man as Pontius Pilate and his question is recorded in John 18:38. “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Pilate asked this question during the course of his conversation with Jesus.  Pilate was convinced of Jesus’ innocence yet the religious and political powers wanted Jesus put to death.  The Jews could not sentence anyone to death, that power lay solely in the hands of the Roman Procurator.  That decision was reserved for Pontius Pilate.

Pilate’s question is indeed profound.  It is a question mankind has asked for thousands of years and one that is still asked today.  The poignancy and profundity of Pilate’s question, however, are lost in misfortune.  He, perhaps more than any other man in history, had the opportunity to learn the definition of truth from truth itself.  Jesus said that he was the truth (John 14:6).  All Pilate had to do was to open the dictionary and read the definition himself.  All he had to do was to wait for Jesus to answer his question. Instead, Pilate left Jesus standing in the palace.  He went outside to find resolve a problem while the solution to his real question stood only a few feet from him. 

What a sad picture this is.  We, however, are exactly like Pilate.  We constantly search for the truth, but look elsewhere for an answer.  We rely on our own knowledge, experience, and understanding to provide an answer to our question.  In the process, however, of providing our own solution, we miss the wonderful opportunity within our grasp to learn from God.  All we have to do is to open His word, read it, learn from it, and apply it to our lives.  In John 17:17, Jesus tells us that God’s word is truth.

As I write this devotional, I’m looking at my bookshelf.  Over my desk is a rather large dictionary.  Inside, all the knowledge I need about any word in the English language is at my disposal.  All I have to do is pull it off the shelf, open it, look up a word, and learn its definition.  The sad part is that I don’t use the book as often as I should and sometimes I have to blow the dust off of it before I open it.  Equally, I have several copies of God’s word in my study.  As I look at them, I realize that I need to spend more time in them, learning the truth of God.  In order to learn about Him, I must open His word and look up the things He wants to teach me.  The more time I spend in His word, the more about Him I learn. 

Do you have things about God you need and want to learn today?  Are there things about Him you wish you knew better?  Why don’t you follow my mom’s advice and look it up in the dictionary?  I believe you’ll find God’s word filled with everything you need to live an abundant Christian life.