I want you to take a moment and imagine your first mental picture when your hear the word “Bible.” Maybe you picture an old, dusty family heirloom passed down from an older generation with the family’s births and marriages marked in the first pages. Maybe you think of a large, decoratively displayed book sitting at the altar of the church on a wooden book stand. Maybe you remember that Bible of yours tucked away in a nightstand because, regardless of your intentions, it hasn’t been pulled out in weeks. Maybe you reflect on your morning’s scripture reading before you headed off to work. The one thing in common for most of these scenarios, though, is that to most of us, whether we believe the Bible to be God’s actual word or not, whether we are diligent in reading scripture daily or not, still view this Holy book as an inanimate object, two leather covers holding in some very special words. What we often fail to realize is that God never intended His Word to be mere typed words on a page. Instead, he desires the scriptures to be a true dialogue, an applicable guide, and an active part of our lives. Hebrews 4: 12Hebrews 4: 12
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
12 What God has said isn't only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts.
WP-Bible plugin stresses this truth:
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
What this verse explains is the profound effect our Bible, God’s Word, has in the lives of readers. Because of the power of the scriptures, these mere black and white pages have the ability to convict, to change, or to judge the individuals who open their minds, and most importantly their lives, to the authority of the text. This initial effect then becomes active as believers live out the Truth daily, sharing the Word of God to those who never even bothered to open the book at all.
Our ultimate example of the Word living and active is the life of Christ. The scriptures prophesied about Jesus’ coming long before God sent Him to earth, and his life is the best way to understand God’s intended purpose for His Word. Hebrews 4: 14-16Hebrews 4: 14-16
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Jesus Is the Great High Priest
14 We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about him.
15 Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin!
16 So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.
WP-Bible plugin explains:
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
I find great comfort and encouragement in these words. Jesus lived out all that was explained in the scriptures about our Savior. He truly became God, God’s Word, and God’s Spirit in the flesh, and the most amazing thing is, because he was human like us, he knows “our pain.” In other words, despite his Godliness, despite his position as High Priest, and despite his ability to fulfill the scriptures perfectly, he was also a man, human like you and I. Oh, what a relief to know that His life gives us hope, hope for salvation but also hope for dealing with life’s struggles. Because He proved that the Word is alive and active, I, too, can begin to make it more animate in my own life. I can hold on to its promises and guidance, but most importantly I can remember that all those words are intended to be lived out, lived out in the way Christ did it. Following that example is the ultimate goal.
The following poem is a beautiful testament to the vitality of God’s Word:
No creature has meaning without the Word of God.
God’s Word is in all creation, visible and invisible.
The Word is living, being, spirit, all verdant greening, all creativity.
This Word flashes out in every creature.
This is how the spirit is in the flesh—
the Word is indivisible from God.
By Hildegard of Bingen
prayer
Thank you God for this dialogue you started with us! Help us use our lives as an obedient response and to show the world that your Word is applicable, viable, authoritative, and effective! Thank you for that Bible on my nightstand and help me be its living witness.
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