“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” ~ John 10:27
The Importance of God’s Word & Does He Still Speak Today?
by theburningbushboy | Contributing Writer | Eternal Affairs Media
One of the ways to appreciate the importance of a thing, though a tough way, is to lose the thing. In other words, you may never, truly, know how important what you have is until it is lost. The consequences of its loss unveil its importance. It is on this rather strange view that I shall be looking at the importance of God’s Word to our world.
Perhaps, I should not take it for granted that we are on the same page concerning what the Word of God is. This is, however, simple! God’s Word is what it is – God’s Word! God’s Word is the Word of God and a Word from God. It is either His Word, as written or documented in the Bible, or as pronounced or spoken by men.
The documented are words He had spoken before now; as recorded in the Bible. But since God is always relevant – the same yesterday, today, and forever, He is still speaking; today and tomorrow. This makes God’s Word, not only historical but also current and futuristic in manner. What a dynamism!
Hebrews 1:1-2 says: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”
From the above, it is clear that God spoke in different ways and at different times. He spoke through the prophets before speaking through His Son, Jesus Christ. Interestingly, He is still speaking in diverse ways and on different occasions through different people.
God is still addressing our world and the people therein, just as He spoke in the beginning to create the earth and to address the first beings.
According to Genesis 1:1-3, when the earth was formless, void, and dark, all it took God to bring about orderliness and life was to speak. With His Spirit interested in the situation of the earth, hence His movement upon the face of the waters, God followed it up with a spoken word – LET THERE BE LIGHT!
What else rearranges a scattered situation or life but the Word of God? What else could reorder our present world if not the Word of God? What other thing or who else could bring light to our darkness but the Word of God? Yes, I used WHO for the Word of God, because referring to John 1:1,14, the Word is God; personified to dwell with us in the flesh as Jesus.
Sadly, the Word of God, which is the much-needed intervention our world needs, is being attacked – adulterated and completely ignored. The attack on God’s Word at the beginning of creation is still very much around, even now occurring in greater and alarming dimensions. Somehow, we are disillusioned to think we are wise enough to sustain a world not governed by God’s Word. As it was with Adam and Eve, followed up with Jesus in the wilderness, when He had gone to fast and pray, the enemy is still very much doing the same thing in our days.
The moment he got Adam and Eve to accept the adulterated version of what God said to them, he got them all twisted. Mind you, a drop of a pollutant was all he needed. God said in four words: “Thou Shalt Surely Die”. But the Devil rephrased it in five words: “Ye Shall Not Surely Die’. (Gen. 2:17;3:4)
That seemingly ‘little’ addition; NOT, changed the entire world till today. The ‘not’ is daily making our world far from the world God created. We are daily becoming nuts because we keep seeing God’s Word as naught.
The manner of the world we see today tells us if God’s Word is important or not. We keep the Word of God away from the children in schools but when they grow up to be incarcerated as criminals, we bring to them, in prisons, the same Word we ought to have earlier introduced to guide their steps.
“How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word,” says Psa. 119:9 MSB.
Reiterating, the importance of God’s Word is evident in the consequences of its denial by our world.
Why do the nations rage? Why do the people waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle, the rulers plot together against the LORD and against his anointed one. ‘Let us break their chain,’ they cry, ‘and free ourselves from this slavery.’ But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. (Psa. 2:1-5 NLT)
Our political and religious leaders, just as in the above scriptures, are daily drifting from God by treating His word as unimportant. Hearing God’s voice approaching us, we run, foolishly attempting to hide from Him. We should have learned from Adam and Eve not to think we can have a blissful earth outside His Word.
Today, ever unlike before, God’s sheep have come to identify, appreciate and follow the strange leading voice of a stranger. One wonders how we got tired of the sweet voice of the Good Shepherd, preferring to be independent of Him. (John 10:1-5) Treating God’s Word as nothing, we have a world full of nuts. How much more important can the Word of God be?
Yet, there is hope. “Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts…” (Heb. 3:7-8)
