What If It Was?

I was thinking this morning, that while I may not be a fan of Oklahoma’s flat terrain… I am very thankful for the neighborhood in which I live.  And I was reminded of this today, as Fiver and I walked out onto the green commons area between our house and the city golf course.  As we began our walk, I mentioned to Fiver that there was something pleasing about the sights, sounds and smells that greeted us on this warm Saturday morning. 

To me it was a welcoming day with the golf carts and their colorfully clad occupants dotting the course, the sounds of moms and dads cheering on their kids with whatever sport was being played at the large city park on the opposite side of the course, the honking of geese and Mallard ducks flying overhead (and on my lawn earlier in the day), the distinctive sound of an old WWII fighter flying overhead and on the return walk, the rumbling of a classic Harley meandering through the streets and a couple F16 Fighting Falcons passing over from the Air National Guard base at the somewhat nearby Tulsa International airport.

I would imagine that all of us have sights and sounds of things that bring us pleasure.  I’ve mentioned many times of how much the sounds of my wife’s voice brought extreme joy to my heart.  Whether it was looking forward to sitting in front of her in high school English… a year before we began to date… and later as a couple walking around the high school, local Junior College and then the University campus that we attended, or getting a call from her at work years after we were married and had four children… there was just something about that all familiar, sweet jingle that carried her words that would set my world at peace and let me know that I was needed and loved.

As you’re reading this post today, I bet that someone special to you is dancing across the portals of your memory.  Who is that individual… and why are they so special to you?

I’ve been thinking a lot about that question during my Bible Study throughout this last week.  It has been one of those occasions in my daily time with the Lord, that I seem to be stuck on the initial statement of one particular verse.  That portion of scripture is found in the book of Hebrews where the writer penned this thought saying,

“God's word is living and active…” (Hebrews 4:12A – God’s Word ©)

In my wife’s old 1974 version of the illustrated Living Bible, she underlined this paraphrase that states,

“For whatever God says to us is full of living power…”

The recent Remedy New Testament expands the verse by explaining,

“For the word of God is the living and active revelation of the truth about God, his methods and principles, and the real basis of life in the universe...”

And in his 1906 book, “The Letters of St Paul to Seven Churches and Three Friends with the Letter to the Hebrews” Arthur S. Way translates the verse as,

“For God’s word, on which I base my argument, is not a thing of the past nor is it something eternal to us: (but) it is still living and instinctive with energy.”

The reoccurring questions that kept popping up in my mind as I read and reread this verse from as many translations, commentaries and Greek dictionaries that I could get my hands on was… “What if it was?” and “What if every Christian approached the daily study of their Bibles (and the way they lived their lives for that matter) with the foregone conclusion that the Word of God,

is not a thing of the past nor is it something eternal to us: (but) it is still living and instinctive with energy (or active power).?”

The Cambridge Bible in its commentary for this scripture reveals that

“The Word of God” in this verse is “reference to the written and spoken word of God and of the force and almost personality of which the writer shows so strong a sense. (for to him) The word is no dead utterance of the past, but a living power for ever!”

So, with that potentially life-changing thought in mind, I’ll ask you the same question that I have been asking myself all week.  “What if it was?  Would we live our life differently in the way we approach the activities (good, bad, indifferent, fun or threatening) that we regularly face, as well as the way we interact with the various people that come into our lives on a daily basis?”

Hummmm… Now that’s something to ponder!

I like what the Cambridge Bible says as to the strong sense of force and the personality of God that comes out through the Word that the writer of Hebrews presents to us. I don’t know about you… but that statement sure rings true for my personal interactions with God as I study His Word. 

When I see one of my Bibles in my house, I am reminded of the warmth and joy that I always felt when I thought of my wife Piper over the years… because it’s the same feeling I get when I look at my Bible!  To me, it is not just a book, but a good friend whose loving, kind and generous personality comes out with active force and power that can and does work in my life… as I actively, specifically and expectantly put it to work in my daily routine.

How about you? How do you see and or live Hebrews 4:12?  Is it the personality of God communicating with you?

What if it Was?

Have a great weekend as you ponder and decide about today’s post…