How Do You Take It?

"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."
Acts 17:11 (NKJV)

Many people like coffee and there are a variety of ways that people take their coffee.  When I am on an airplane, for example, and I ask for coffee, they always ask if I take it with cream and sugar.  How I take my coffee will make a difference in how it will taste to me.  If I add a lot of cream or a lot of sugar to the coffee, it will have a big impact on the taste of the coffee.  But one thing is for sure, you have to start with coffee because that is the basic ingredient of the drink.

The people in the city of Berea were people who "received the Word with all readiness of mind".  The Bereans were people who had the right attitude about God's Word and they received the Word, they took the Word, in the right way; they were eager to hear and receive the Word.  Just like you could add a lot of cream or sugar to your coffee to make it so that the taste of the coffee is dramatically altered, you can take God's Word in a way that will dramatically alter the "taste" you have of the Word of God.

If we read and study God's Word with the wrong attitude, we are taking it the wrong way and we will miss the benefits of it.  As James 1:21 tells us, we need to receive the Word with meekness, which is talking about humility and a mild attitude rather than a combative and resisting attitude.  How we take God's Word will have a major impact on our spiritual growth and development, as well as our ability to work with and help other people.  We all need to have the right attitude about receiving God's Word.