One of my favorite conversations in the prophetic book of Ezekiel is found in Ezekiel 1-3. There God appears to Ezekiel and commissions him to carry a message to the people of Israel. God places a scroll before him filled with God’s message to God’s people. Then God invites Ezekiel to do something strange. God says,

“Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. Ezekiel 3:1-4

Ezekiel eats the scroll, and the words written on it become a part of him. They become a message from God to share with the people he meets. They become words that give life, provide hope, that convict, and convince. The words consumed by Ezekiel consume Ezekiel to the point that he has to share them.

I love this conversation because I believe God continues inviting us to “Eat This Book.” That is, to read and meditate on scripture so profoundly that the words on the page become words written on our hearts. God continues to invite us to engage with God’s word in a way that allows the words to reshape and reform us from the inside out.

And so, I invite you over the next three weeks to eat Paul’s letter to the Colossians by reading it three times (once each week). Take notes on it. Look at the references and notes in your Bible. Dwell on these words and allow them to consume you.

The letter is short, but it is filled with transforming power. These words will, if we give them time to digest, challenge, encourage, and unite us in love as we pursue Christ.

Let’s dwell richly in God’s word together. Let’s eat this book and see how God might transform us so that we might transform the world.

God bless,
Jonathan Smith
For Jesus. For People. For Community.