Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians 3:16

The thermometer on my car’s dash read 108 yesterday. Summer is here. It’s time to go out in the backyard and slap some steaks on the grill. Is there anything more mouthwatering than a perfectly cooked steak?

The secret to a great steak isn’t just on searing it to the right temperature. It’s in the seasoning. You might even have your own patent-pending, award winning secret sauce that you soak those slabs of beef in. It might even contain salt that melts into the meat, drawing moisture with it. Maybe you have an acid in the mix that helps to break down the complex proteins tenderizing the steak. One ingredient I’m sure you use is time. I’ve never seen a recipe for a marinade that didn’t involve time. It might be 1 hour, overnight, or somewhere between. It’s never a quick dip.

Paul is challenging us to marinade our lives with the word of God. Let it dwell. Let it linger. Let the word of God soak into our beings. Let it begin to tenderize our hearts. Let it draw in the moisture of grace and truth lest our lives begin to dry out.

Don’t just dip into it, but dive in with richness or fullness. Fully immerse yourself in the life-changing pages and allow yourselves to develop into something sweeter and well seasoned.

May you live your life consumed by the word of God.