Discovering the Active Word of God

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

—John 1:1-2

When was the last time you found yourself saying, “That’s not what I meant!” You thought the words you spoke were perfectly clear as they came out of your mouth, but the other person heard something entirely different.

That’s the problem with language. Even though we say what we mean, people may not comprehend what we say the way we expect or desire. Jesus knew this well when he said, “Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matthew 11:15), which is basically another way of saying, “Don’t just listen to the words at the surface. Chew on them. Examine them. Meditate over them so you can really understand them.”

I took my first Bible study class when I was 40. Forty!!! Prior to that, I was merely hearing scripture that was spoon-fed to me at church. I didn’t question what I heard or seek to understand it. When something didn’t make sense— which was more often than I care to admit—I simply wrote it off as confusing or outdated and left it at that.

So, imagine my surprise when I started reading the Bible on my own and discovered that this compilation of books was really one big story! Forty known authors writing from three different continents over a span of 2,000 years all pointing to the same thing, or more specifically, the same person: Jesus. It not only changed the way I read Scripture, but it also changed the way I listened to it.

My approach to holy Scripture has taken a few turns over the years. At first, I read it to obtain information, like the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 49) or the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). My NIV Bible with Jesus’s words in red letters worked well for this. Next, I wanted to read the Bible to better understand my role in God’s world. For this I used a Life Application Study Bible. Luckily, my husband had one of those. Then I started to wonder about the order of events in the Bible. Where was the overlap between books? For this I needed a Chronological Bible, which I received as a Christmas gift. After a visit to the Holy Lands, I wanted to learn more about the Bible’s historical context, so I bought myself an Archeological Bible. And just to be sure I wasn't missing anything, I added a copy of the most contemporary translation of the Bible, The Message, to my library.

But something was still missing. What was it?

Hebrews 4:12 states, “For 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.”

That was it! I was missing the Spirit of Scripture. The Word wasn’t alive and active because I had been reading the Bible for head knowledge. Simply reading the words didn’t mean I heard the message. Remember, Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (Mark 4:9). To truly experience the good news, I had to learn how to move the words from head into my heart.

Before the books of the Bible were written down, its stories were shared orally, passed down from one generation to another. A good storyteller would add inflection, modulating the pitch of his voice to match the mood of the story. He would pace his words, speaking slowly to convey intrigue or introspection, speaking quickly to convey worry or disaster. When the stories were finally written down, many of the oral interpretations were lost to posterity. Scribes could have included descriptive sentences, but they didn’t. It was left to the reader to fill in the blanks.

Thankfully, we have Jesus—the literal Word of God. You’re probably asking, “How does that affect how I read the Bible?” Oh my! It affects everything!

One way to get into the word so the word gets into you is through the discipline of Lectio Divina, which means divine reading. You can google this to find a plethora of guidelines about this discipline, but the important thing to remember is that divine reading is not prescriptive. You need to find what works best for you.

For me, this means reading a passage from the Bible out loud and slowly three times while chewing on the words differently with each reading. The first time I read, I take note of anything that pops out to me. Then I sit with it and meditate on it. Meditation, according to pastor, author, and theologian Eugene Peterson moves us “from looking at the words of the text to entering the world of the text.” Before reading the passage out loud a second time, I’ll pray for clarity and insight. Afterwards, I journal my thoughts or discuss them with God. The third time I read the passage, I imagine myself in the story. I may be part of the crowd or one of the disciples. I might be the woman at the well or one of the Pharisees. By placing myself in the storyline, I see and feel things differently. I then share these insights with God. Closing my eyes in prayer, I ask God to help me glorify him to expand his kingdom while paying close attention to what I may have to change about myself.

You can’t read the Bible in a year if you read it this slowly, but as you meditate, reflect, and pray over Scripture, the text becomes more than words on a page. Peterson writes, “Lectio Divinia cultivates this personal, participatory attentiveness and thus trains us in the discipline of reading Scripture rightly.”

Lectio Divina is not new. It originated in the 6th century under Benedictine monks. Before cell phones or computers, before radio or the printing press, people spoke in complete sentences and reflected on God’s movement in their lives. (At least I like to think they did.) Today, however, our culture elevates speed above slow growth, but spirituality cannot be rushed. It needs to be nurtured and savored with patience and reflection.

In the beginning was the Word. Then “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). When everything in this life ends, the Word will still exist. It’s what we do with the Word between the beginning and the end that matters. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (Luke 8:8).

SHARING A FAVORITE SONG: I’m Listening by Chris McClarney (Jesus Culture)

Favorite lyric: “I don't wanna miss one word You speak. So quiet my heart, I'm listening.”