Saying the Final Word

I think a lot about words. Like, a lot. 

I'm completing a masters degree in education, which means reading many, many words and writing many, many more. 

My degree will give me a license to teach English as a second language in Virginia schools, so I spend a lot of my time considering how to make the words of this language meaningful and understood to people who struggle with them. 

And as you're likely aware, if you're reading this, I've been writing a lot of words every morning about this thing called faith and about the One in Whom I rest my faith.

So here's the deal with words. 2 Timothy 2:8-9 says: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David." 

Jesus is the Word made flesh. The Word that was in the beginning -- the original Word -- and the Word that will endure to the end. John 1:1-5 says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him, all things were made; without Him, nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."

So there are words, and there is the Word. 2 Timothy 2:8-9 goes on: "This [the Word] is my gospel, for which I am suffering, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's Word is not chained."

I love the music of the '50's and '60's. Songwriter Alex North composed a melody, later made famous by the Righteous Brothers, called Unchained Melody, one of my all-time favorites. It was originally a song featured in the 1955 movie Unchained -- hence, the name of the song -- but the lyrics themselves are about both the captivity and the freedom of romantic love. The song features the oft-told story of a lover who is at some distance from the object of his desire, and though time and space separate them, there's an unbreakable chain that links the two, and someday -- someday -- they will be reunited. 

The lyrics impart a feeling of both belonging: "Are you still mine?" -- and effort, the effort to decrease the physical distance between the two lovers: "I'll be coming home; wait for me."

Glancing a few verses down to 2 Timothy 2:19, it says: "Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are His," and "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." 

See, there's a relationship here that is identified by two characteristics.

First: We -- God's people -- belong to Him. There's no effort there; it's a simple statement of fact. He knows those who are His. He calls us by name (Isaiah 43:1). We are His, simply because He loves us, and because He loves us, we love Him (Song of Solomon 6:3). From that love, we produce the fruit of love for everyone around us (1 John 4:19). 

Ever been around someone truly in love? I have -- both those who have just found each other and those who have spent an entire lifetime together. Both ends of that spectrum are beautiful in their own way. It's difficult to find a bitter lover when there's a reciprocal, honoring relationship there.

When we truly honor -- and reciprocate -- our love relationship with God, love -- the first fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) -- becomes a brilliant light for everyone fortunate enough to witness that relationship.

Second: We -- God's people -- have a responsibility, a mission, a task -- to be faithful to our Lover. The first characteristic (belonging) was passive; this mission involves action. We turn away from wickedness, we confess the Name of the Lord.

And here's where I've been spending a good bit of time over the last days as I thought about Ravi Zacharias and what he stood for. I thought of the many, many words he spoke and how -- because of what he did in his private life -- those words were empty.

And then I thought of the Word he spoke, and realized -- despite the deliverer of that Word, despite his grievous failings -- the power of the message remains the same. "God's Word is not chained." 

The Word is not chained behind the sins of a man who couldn't control himself. It's not mired by the actions of those who are less than perfect. The Word Himself is perfect; the Word Himself breaks chains, sets prisoners free, brings light into dark places, and refines with fire. "Our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29).

So while God will judge Ravi for what he did during his lifetime, while He will judge each of us for our actions and thoughts during our lifetime, God's Word will not be held back by our flaws, our stupidity, our blind struggle, even our determined sin.

"In a large house, there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work" (2 Timothy 2:20-21).

Take stock of your articles and toss out the worthless ones. 

Here's something I never noticed before, and it's super important: There are gold, silver, wood, and clay instruments used for noble purposes, just as there are gold, silver, wood, and clay instruments used for ignoble purposes. It's not just the gold and silver items that are good and wood and clay things that are bad. It's both/and.

Ravi, and some other great and well-known leaders, the "gold and silver instruments", people who claimed to follow God, people who were well-respected because of their words -- used words that were ignoble, and those words and actions should have been disposed of. Those people should have been held accountable. 

On the other hand, members of the peanut gallery, the "wood and clay" of society, have given some amazing words: The despised Samaritan woman at the well ran to tell everyone in her town about Jesus, the Man who had given her living water. The despised tax collector Matthew left his booth to follow Jesus and wrote a pretty phenomenal book covering Jesus' life and ministry. The despised and demon-possessed Mary Magdalene followed Jesus throughout His ministry and was the first one to see Jesus after His resurrection, after which she ran to tell the disciples: "I have seen the Lord!"

In an age of social media, where the internet is flooded with words: Be careful. Be careful with your words. They represent and reflect the relationship between yourself and your Father, and the world is watching. "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful" (2 Timothy 2:23-24).

Rather, let the Word of God, that is living and active, and sharper than any double-edged sword, be the word that is in your mouth and in your spirit.

That's the final Word.