Pastor Hugh's Monthly Meditation
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Word of God. Source of Life.
Recently I had a long conversation with a dear friend who happens to be either an agnostic or, more likely, an atheist.
One of the things that struck me during our conversation was the objection that my friend had to people of faith who always turn to a book that is thousands of years old in order to answer life’s ultimate questions. While I won’t go into the details of our conversations, since it lasted at least an hour and left my brain sore from over-use, the basic difference between us was over whether ultimate truth exists or not, and whether, if it exists, it can be found in the Bible.
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This is not just an academic question, by the way. It is, from my perspective, the question that people of faith must ask. If the Bible is merely a literary product of an ancient people and no more a source of divine revelation than is, say, a play by William Shakespeare, then this would have significant consequences for us people of faith. For one thing, when, at the end of a reading, we say, “The Word of the Lord, “ followed by, “Thanks be to God,” that statement and response would be rendered rather empty.
The thing about faith, that makes it faith and not a kind of science, is that we live not by sight or proof, but in a kind of hope and trust. We can never prove that the “Word of the Lord,” is what we claim it to be—certainly not to the satisfaction of an atheist. But the evidence of its truthfulness, of its divinity, can be found. It is found in the lives that that Word changes: in the forgiveness that is received, the new life that is lived, the support through life’s challenges that is experienced. In other words, the evidence for the ultimate truthfulness of God’s Word, as it comes to us through the Bible, cannot be discerned through intellectual exertion or through a double-blind scientific experiment. For God’s living Word wants to dwell not only in our minds, but in our hearts. The psalmist wrote in Psalm 51:10:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
At the heart of this psalm is the conviction that true righteousness—that is living in and out of a right relationship with God—comes through the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, within our hearts—the heart being understood as the central core of our being; that place where our deepest motivations, beliefs, and desires originate. The heart, as it is understood as a biblical metaphor, is where our deepest unspoken secrets are stored. And it is in our heart that God’s Word takes root, promises us forgiveness and new life, and breathes new strength into our faith.
So what is this Word? It is the promise of God that through Jesus—through his death and resurrection—we have been made new. We have a new life, a new identity, and a new freedom. God’s Word comes to us as promise and grace, and as direction and challenge. It is both Gospel (good news) and Law (demand). It both shows us where we are to journey, and gives us the resources for that journey. God’s Word is found in the stories, the laws, the poems and wisdom sayings, the prophetic oracles, letters, and the Good News of Jesus that have been collected and published in the Bible. But God’s Word is always a living word and that is why the real power and promise of that word is only evident in the lives of people of faith.
Will I convince my friend of this truth? Probably not. But while it may be unlikely, if not impossible, for me, God’s Word, being a living word, always holds open possibilities that my finite mind can never fully grasp.
Hugh R. B. Haffenreffer
Pastor
October 2007
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