“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Isaiah 55:1

This verse enraptured me the moment I first laid eyes on it. In my day, U.S. Marines received no monthly salary—just a stipend of a few dollars, most of which I sent home to help my poor parents. Yet, suddenly, I knew I was rich! The word "Ho" caught my attention.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know God was about to say something important. He had something great for the thirsty and hungry that would cost no money and yet had to be bought. I knew immediately what the Lord had in mind—at least for me.

I couldn't stop filling my thirsting and starving soul with the purest of water, the sweetest of wine and the most wholesome—of milk His wonderful Word!

Like the man lost in the desert who suddenly locates water—like the starving prisoner who is freed and offered food—I drank and ate and drank the Word, the Word, the Word! And just like He said, I got so full that rivers of this living water started flowing out of my inner being.

That was around 60years ago; yet the experience is ongoing That's why I genuinely weep for Christians who, though saved, do not thrist and hunger daily for the most nourishing of all foods—the Word of God.

Such laziness and lukewarmness can only lead to regret. The Lord tells us to "buy" that which He offers free. How can that be? Though He has given us a whole storehouse of riches, we must pay a price—commitment, dedication and discipline—to search out His Word and set our hearts on obeying it. The wise do it! The foolish don't!

My prayer: "Father, Your Word never returns empty. Cause me to so eat and drink the Scriptures in daily spiritual meals that my soul will have no empty places."

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1)
The ST. PAUL SCHOOL, with Frank Eiklor, Eileen Young and Cecilia Contreras