That Moment When the Word Changes You

I probably own 20 Bibles of all types.  Leather-bound, paperback, hardback.  At least seven or eight different versions, not counting all the versions available to me through YouVersion, Bible Gateway, and Blue Letter Bible (some of my favorite places to study the Bible electronically).  .  Preaching Bibles, study Bibles, chronological Bible, New Testaments (plus Psalms and Proverbs).  I received some as gifts, some for reaching some kind of milestone, some as publishers’ promotions, and my Granny’s Bibles as an inheritance.  I have even intentionally bought a few. 

And none of them have the power to change my life.

That is, not in and of themselves.  I have to engage the Word and its Author to benefit from any of them.  But though understanding God’s Word does come with great benefits for my life, Scripture doesn’t exist for my benefit but for God’s.  For His worship, for He is worthy of it.  For His Kingdom, for it is His reflection of Himself.  For His work, for believers are the body of Christ, active in this sin-ravaged world in need of redemption.

Many days, I study my Bible and don’t find an earth-shattering new truth.  Many days, I wonder why parts of the Word are included – they seem so random.  Many days, I am adding to my knowledge of who God is but not really getting any specific revelation from Him.

But then, sometimes I have THAT moment.  That moment when a familiar passage goes all Transformer on me and I get it.  That moment when I wonder how I could have missed this after a lifetime of reading and studying the Bible.  That moment when it all becomes crystal-clear.  Hopefully, you have experience THAT moment while studying your Bible.

I have seen Romans 8:1 transform people when God seems to say to them, “What you’ve heard about me, it’s really true.  When you’ve trusted my Son with your life, I really don’t condemn you.”  They get it, and it changes them.

I have found that James 1:27 can also have that effect on people.  Maybe because 21st century Christians tend to spend much more time in the New Testament (where this is the only clear command to care for orphans) and not so much time in the Old Testament (where the command is not only clear but repeated throughout Israel’s history).  Maybe be cause it surprises us since we haven’t heard it preached regularly in our churches.  Maybe because we’ve just read James 1:22 (“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”) a few verses before, and we’re on high alert to DO something.  Whatever the reason, James 1:27 is often transformative.  I recently talked to a man in our church who told me that this verse stunned him.  He had read it many times before, but this time he considered what he was actually doing to minister to orphans, and he came up with…nothing.  He prayed for opportunity and didn’t have to wait long before the Lord moved him toward a major investment in an orphanage in another country.  One day, I hope to bring you his family’s story in all its fullness here on this blog.

What verses have transformed your life as the Word became clear to you?  Maybe, even probably, your transformative verses are not directly related to orphan care, but it’s always interesting to me how God can change a life today with words written thousands of years ago that still come alive today.  Engage in the conversation.

Thanks for reading.
Al

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