A Life in Exile

I had a great conversation last night with a friend that reminded me how alive and applicable God’s Word is for our lives. I’ve been reading in both Leviticus and Romans during my quiet times each day, and our pastor is preaching from Deuteronomy. Her pastor preached that Sunday from Isaiah 6, which referenced the reign of King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26. Can you believe that we referenced all those books and more in talking about forgiveness, doing things our way (as opposed to God’s), sin, worship, and how every detail in Scripture has a purpose?

I love discussions like this, and so did my friend, as she blurted out, “Aren’t you glad we’re not talking about mascara!” I was like, “What?” and she said, “You know, superficial stuff!”

There’s nothing superficial about God’s Word.

I was very happy we weren’t talking about mascara, since I don’t wear makeup at all anymore, and I was very happy at our wonderful conversation centered totally around God’s Word. Thank you, Lord, for the joy that brings.

This brought to mind the book I had finished reading that same day that also talked about God’s Word. Cynthia Oh provides a wonderful look at the impact of the Bible in China through her book, From Banned Book to Bestseller: Bible Mission In Contemporary China. It is amazing to see what has happened in China since the end of the Cultural Revolution. A book that was once banned and burned has now been translated into languages of multiple ethnic groups within China and is printed within the country at the Amity Printing company, which is one of the largest Bible printers in the world.

Many of the testimonies Oh shares serve as reminders to the impact of the Word in the lives of those who have the privilege to read it. Testimony was given by a woman who served as a reader to an illiterate family member. After reading the Bible to her over a period of time, she too, came to faith in Christ. The words of this book contained the answers to her struggles and offered life found in no other book or source.

The translation of the Bible into here-to-fore languages without a written form broke the ground for the birth of churches and also for dictionaries and further literature for those people groups. As one person shared, “An ethnic group without its own literature is like one without a soul.”

The Word of God is powerful and sharp.

We know the verses, but how often do we remember to keep the Word in the forefront of all our conversations, mixing it into the topics of our discussions? The writer of Hebrews knew its effectiveness:

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 CSB)

Paul knew its importance and talked about it in writing to Timothy:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-16)

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2)

We need to be leaning into the Word of God in our private time of study and devotion, chewing on the meaning of words, connecting passages to the whole of Scripture, and digesting its application to our lives. As we do that, we are better able to preach and teach the Word to others, building up their faith and equipping them for living out the Christian life.

Know the Word now for future trials.

As the Day of the Lord nears, our reliance on the Word of God grows increasingly significant. It was amazing to read in the book on the Bible in China how believers saved pages from Bibles to read in secret during the days of the Cultural Revolution. They copied them by hand, memorized them, and risked life and limb to stay loyal to it. What are we doing to bury the Word deep in our hearts and in the minds and hearts of those we serve?

Again Paul writes to Timothy:

For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:3-5, emphasis added)

We are already living in that reality in some part today, as the Word of God is being twisted and manipulated by some to “soften” the message, “ease the pain” of the hearers, and “create God in their own image.” Without a firm knowledge of the Word of God, Christians are easy to fall prey to false gospels. This was happening in China, as copies of God’s Word were few and far between for such a massive number of people, and people were kept illiterate and susceptible to flowery words.

Only with sound teaching and Bible literacy could the flow of false teaching subside among the churches. This took work—work from translators, Bible printers, colporteurs, Bible teachers, preachers, prayer warriors, and financial supporters. To say it was a global effort is an understatement.

I’m grateful to be reminded of the impact of the global church in the Great Commission. In this way, the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. Thank God today for those who sacrificed much to translate the Bible into the heart language of those you serve. Thank God for every person who played a role in having the Word reach the hands of believers, including the Bible you hold on a daily basis. May we not take it for granted but hold it close, hide it in our hearts, and live by it every moment of every day.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Mission Monday post, click HERE, or check out these other posts on God’s Word: A Family of the Word, Teaching the Word, When the Word Penetrates, Learning from the Past, and Staying Grounded.