The Transformational Power of ScriptureSample

The Word is life

I recently heard about a small group of Christians who risk their lives every time they read the Bible.

Somewhere in Somalia, where Christ is dangerous to confess, a Bible is hidden in a cave outside of a village. After the sun sets, a brave disciple sneaks out of the village, retrieves the Scriptures from the cave, sneaks back into the village, and leads his small group in studying the Word of God. (I guess I shouldn’t get moody when we have mediocre snacks after my small group . . .)

Before the sun rises, this same disciple reverses the process, returning the Bible and sneaking back into the village before his neighbors discover the secret and demand his death.

Why would these believers take such a risk? Jesus knows: “The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (John 6:63). In the roughly 750,000 words that make up the Word, we find eternal life.

“Life” is one of the many ways that the Bible talks about being with God. Death is, essentially, distance between you and God, while life is the full enjoyment of his presence. 

Without the good news revealed in the Word, no sinner could claim a spot in God’s holy presence. But the words that Jesus spoke to us are full of life, because they are full of access to God. Despite all your past transgressions, your present flaws, and your almost assured future sins, the Bible promises you, a believer in Jesus, the unimaginable—God himself.

Shortly after declaring that the Word of God is “alive and active,” the author to the Hebrews writes, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (4:12,16).

Fellow child of God, approach the King of kings with confidence today. Find mercy for every one of yesterday’s sins. Find grace to help you when you need it the most in the days to come. God is not annoyed by your request or bothered by your presence. In fact, he wrote an entire book to tell you just the opposite.

Don’t believe me? Read the Word. It is full of the Spirit and life!

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