What’s in a Word?

The bible invites us into a rich new world where Christ is King; then it urges us to play our part serving, loving, and being loved by Him.

God spoke in the beginning and creation came out.

His Word made us. Now it continues to shape, sustain, and serenade us.

This makes the bible the most explosive book ever written… which is probably why we handle it like a textbook for polite living or a pick ’n’ mix of motivational phrases.

It’s too scary to admit what the bible really is.

Scripture does of course teach us to live well and it is packed full of encouragement. But it’s also so much more. The bible is a dynamic playground of prayer, encounter, and obedience; hallowed space where Creator meets creature and asks us to love Him.

In the Word of God lies the Person of God.

As we read scripture, the Holy Spirit brings it to life. We delight to discover that God is there, and that He is good.

The bible invites us into a rich new world where Christ is King; then it urges us to play our part serving, loving, and being loved by Him.

Sitting under scripture like this, we cannot help but change. We soak in God’s fierce mercy, compassionate power, and astounding love for sinners (despite His hatred of sin), and the most amazing thing happens: we become more like Him.

This helps when we realise that we have to take this Word into the world with us.

We cannot keep it to ourselves, nor do we need to protect it or pretend it’s not difficult (it can defend itself, and it’s kind of meant to be challenging). We simply read it and share it, by word and by deed.

This is the Church’s true contribution to creation’s smorgasbord of sounds. Like 70' kids carrying fresh beats into their neighbourhoods from boomboxes on their shoulders, Christians carry God’s Good News into their neighbourhoods from bibles etched into their hearts, minds, and hands.

When we listen to scripture and obey it, we absorb God’s Word and echo it into the world. And the world needs to hear it.

We live in a chaotic kaleidoscope of words, voices and ideas. At every turn we are hounded by competing stories and slogans — each striving for ultimate supremacy and our unwavering obedience, and not many of them paying homage to our King.

God’s voice crashes in the face of this, wave after soundwave against the world’s arrogance, offence, and oppression, flushing out evil and flooding the gaps with justice and grace.

The Word of God where we can meet with God offers recovery for down-and-outs, forgiveness for sinners, relief for the weary, and justice for the oppressed.

Amidst the torrent of voices whirling around us, it’s easy to turn a deaf ear and ask, “what’s in a word anyway?”

Well, God is in His Word, and He wants to meet us there. If we will turn up, He will use these meetings to change us and change the world.

That’s what’s in a word.

And that’s why stumbling through scripture is so worth it.

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Originally published at https://www.stumblingthroughscripture.co.uk on March 29, 2021.