Learning To Love And Understand God’s WordMfano

A few summers ago, I took a trip to England. When I landed, many things felt the same as America. I could read the signs. I could understand the language. I felt ready to get out there and see the sights. But then I got in the rental car. The car felt different. The driver’s seat was in a different place. Instead of driving on the right, I was to drive on the left. When I pulled out of the airport garage, I was severely reminded that I was not at home anymore when I almost rammed into a car coming the “wrong” way. Although things appeared similar at first, they were actually quite different, and it took time and effort to assimilate. 

In some ways, our relationship with the Bible is similar. We approach the words and think, I know how to read . . . I can read the signs and interpret the language. But in reality, the Bible is a different culture. Although we can read it in our first language, the language and culture it was written in is quite different. It takes time and effort to assimilate to the culture—but it’s time worth spending. Bible teacher Beth Moore is often quoted as saying, “You will never waste time in God’s Word.” When we put our time and effort into understanding the culture that is the Bible, we come another step closer to hearing and understanding God speaking into our lives.

Some would ask: Isn’t the Bible just a set of old rules? So much of it doesn’t seem to connect to my daily life AT ALL. How wrong they are!

Let’s examine Hebrews 4:12: “The word of God is alive 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.”

Break down the action in this verse. Pull out the six words that describe the characteristics and actions of the Word of God: alive, active, sharp, penetrating, dividing, and judging.

Now go back and look at the verse again, listing the word pairs joined by “and” here: alive and active, soul and spirit, joints and marrow, thoughts and attitudes. 

If you want to be equipped as a believer in God to actually live out a God-centered life, the Scripture is there to teach what’s important and give you direction.

An exercise I do frequently is to put a verse in my own words. Hebrews 4:12 might sound something like, “The Bible isn’t just any book. It’s completely unique. It’s living and breathing. It reads me deeper than I can read myself, in my thoughts, in my heart, and in my attitudes. It slices right through all the clutter and the confusion with surgical precision.”