That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon,
and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life…
1 John 1:1
Words are not alive. To a bored teenager enduring English class, words can be as dead as the inscription engraved in stone on some ancient tomb. Even literature that is deemed immortal often sits dead and dust covered for years until a reader takes it down from the shelf and puts his own life into it.
On the other hand, Jesus Christ is the living, moving, Word of Life. Purpose and enthusiasm are gained from knowing Him. From that perspective, life and living before the encounter seem to have been a mere illusion.
Counterfeit Christianity seems dull by comparison to true faith because it is dead. Knowing Christ produces a hunger and thirst for His fellowship that ritualism can never imitate. The redeemed of the Lord long to see their Savior because He is the source of their existence. However, because of where we are right now in God’s present plan, the priority is faith over sight.
Believers cling to the written Word because it is a vehicle for knowing the true living Word. Through scripture there is communion with Christ, a defining of direction and a strengthening of faith. The world can’t understand it, but the Bible isn’t a normal book. It’s the Reader’s Digest version of the Word of Life.
Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life,
Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty.
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. – Philip P. Bliss (1838-1876)
July 6
