“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.” Hebrews 4:12
I love to read, and I love books. There’s nothing like the feeling of getting a new book, opening it for the first time, preparing to find all the treasures hidden within the pages. A book may take us to places we’ve only dreamed of, or it may teach us things we didn’t even know we didn’t know. I’ve heard people say that books are their friends and I understand what they mean. As a child I made friends with other kids who were characters in various books. I’ve grown to appreciate my friendship with those imaginary children and innumerable imaginary adults in innumerable stories. But in a much more realistic way, I’ve become friends with many, many other people who are, or were, very real and alive on this earth. Because when a book, fiction or non-fiction, touches your mind, heart and soul, you become friends. Not with the book, but with the author of the book. The book is just a means of communication between the author and the reader.
There’s an author like none other Who has written a book like none other. That book, of course, is the Bible. And the author is God. In one sense, the Bible was written by 40 different authors. But even though it was 40 different hands penning the words, all those words came from God. And those words are very special words. They are so much more than just words on a page. They’re living and active! Which makes sense since the author is living and active in a way that no human is or was. The words He gave to each of those 40 men are actually from the heart of the Creator of the universe!
Unlike human authors whom we may never meet, God very much wants to be known through his word. He reveals Himself through the Bible so we can know Him a little better each time we read it. And because it’s alive, it never becomes irrelevant. What other book can you say that about? For thousands of years, people have read the Bible and felt like it was written just for them and for the situation they’re going through right that moment. And it was. God’s word never changes because God never changes. One of the miracles of His word is that it’s relevant for every culture and every age.
God’s word isn’t just relevant, it’s sharp! It’s so sharp it can separate things that are almost inseparable. Separating soul and spirit would be like trying to cut the layers of a piece of paper but God’s word can do that. I take great comfort in that. It’s amazing to me how Satan and the world can worm their way into my thinking. The enemy can make his deceptions look so much like the real thing that I can’t always tell the difference. But God can. His word will divide the counterfeit from the real.
It’s not just relevant and piercing, God’s word also judges us. Not just our actions, but it goes much deeper to judge our thoughts and attitudes. We may not think we’re doing anything so terrible, and maybe our actions aren’t bad. But the thoughts and attitudes behind our actions may tell a different story. I’m sure we’ve all experienced times when a verse seems to cut into our hearts. If you think that hurts, think how Peter must have felt when Jesus responded to him, “Get behind me, Satan!” Even though Peter was a follower of Christ, Satan still was able to twist his thinking to something that was not God-honoring. The protection against that is both simple and hard. The simple part is to make sure we’re spending plenty of time in God’s word. The hard part is to let that word penetrate deeply enough to shine a light on our thoughts and attitudes. The purpose is not to make us feel terrible about ourselves. It’s to clean away all the filth so we can have a closer and deeper walk with God. As hard as it is and as much as it may hurt, God and His word can bring our dirt into the light so we can be cleansed by Him. So let’s start with the simple part – spending more and more time in God’s word, so He can help us with the hard part. All to bring us to the joy filled part of growing closer to Him.