What is the Good Word?
It is not good to confuse the Scriptures and the incarnate Word. Nor is
it good when scripture is resisted or destroyed because it contains Law as well
as Gospel.
It is not good when the Bible’s witness to Jesus Christ is drowned out
by a cacophony of stories, many more banal than the average soap commercial.
Nor is it good when we claim that the Bible has properties that it does not
claim for itself, confusing the intensions and interests, genres and functions,
with various modern works—namely science books or blueprints for governing a
modern state.
On the other side of the coin, it is not good when familiarity breeds
contempt—when we believe we know scripture so well that we refuse to go deeper,
or even take it seriously. When scripture can no longer surprise or challenge
us, we’ve lost the plot. Often times, this is a sign that we’ve overlayed our
reading of scripture with cultural lenses that warp its meaning. Sometimes
shallow or mutated readings of scripture even happen because it benefits
someone.
It is good to celebrate God’s Word
in all its forms. We can do this by reading the bible often and deeply. Using
technology competently to share scripture can witness to Jesus Christ. Being
humble, honest, self-aware, and creative in our reading of scripture and
witnessing to Jesus also honors God’s Word.
It is good to read God’s word in a
way that it reads you—judges and saves, brings death and new life—that repeated
movement of the Spirit continually drawing us into the life of God, most
profoundly experienced on the cross. Sometimes this kind of deep and meaningful
experience of God’s word is best shared through physical acts and creative
words—God’s word touching the senses and the passions so the promises of God
nestle in our hearts and imaginations.
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