(Thanks to Jay for the inspiration and correction)
I recently used the term "hot water heater" in a discussion with a newspaper editor friend. Bemused, my friend responded, "What kind of heater?" I immediately realized where he headed linguistically, and offered the lame excuse that the water in the tank is usually warm when the thermostat ignites the heating jets. However, I eventually fell on my sword and acknowledged the proper title - "water heater." Because, by definition, hot water does not require heating.
"Every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5).
The same precise care and attention must be afforded the Word of God. I was blessed early in my Christian life by teachers who held a high regard for the text of Scripture. "What does the Bible actually say?" - my mentors challenged me to always keep this question at the forefront of all consideration. This must serve as the inquiry of every reading and study of every word, verse, chapter, passage and book. We must handle God's Word more carefully than we might hold a delicate piece of crystal in gingerly transport from cabinet to table. Every word matters. Every word is inspired exactly as God willed. And every word must be believed, interpreted, obeyed, and applied as if we indeed believe that every word is, as Solomon proclaimed, pure.
The prophet Isaiah taught that the words of God fit together as "precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little" (Isaiah 28:10). Much time spent in the Scriptures makes possible such coordination of truths and principles. Even more, much confidence and determination must guide our search for the living Lord Jesus Christ as He dwells on every page of of the Bible. In truth, our Biblical journey involves the discovery of our Savior in the infinite measure and detail of His character, nature, and way. Taking care with God's Word thus means that we diligently seek to know the Lord Jesus as He actually exists in the wondrous union of the Divine and the human. "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And they are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39). God forbid that we comport ourselves in a slipshod or lazy manner as we seek to know the living Word in the written Word that reveals Him. Such determination begins and continues with a high respect for the Bible, as revealed in our delicate handling of a treasure more infinitely valuable than the finest crystal.
"Thy Word is very pure: therefore Thy servant loveth it."
(Psalm 119:140)
"Every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5).
The same precise care and attention must be afforded the Word of God. I was blessed early in my Christian life by teachers who held a high regard for the text of Scripture. "What does the Bible actually say?" - my mentors challenged me to always keep this question at the forefront of all consideration. This must serve as the inquiry of every reading and study of every word, verse, chapter, passage and book. We must handle God's Word more carefully than we might hold a delicate piece of crystal in gingerly transport from cabinet to table. Every word matters. Every word is inspired exactly as God willed. And every word must be believed, interpreted, obeyed, and applied as if we indeed believe that every word is, as Solomon proclaimed, pure.
The prophet Isaiah taught that the words of God fit together as "precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little" (Isaiah 28:10). Much time spent in the Scriptures makes possible such coordination of truths and principles. Even more, much confidence and determination must guide our search for the living Lord Jesus Christ as He dwells on every page of of the Bible. In truth, our Biblical journey involves the discovery of our Savior in the infinite measure and detail of His character, nature, and way. Taking care with God's Word thus means that we diligently seek to know the Lord Jesus as He actually exists in the wondrous union of the Divine and the human. "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And they are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39). God forbid that we comport ourselves in a slipshod or lazy manner as we seek to know the living Word in the written Word that reveals Him. Such determination begins and continues with a high respect for the Bible, as revealed in our delicate handling of a treasure more infinitely valuable than the finest crystal.
"Thy Word is very pure: therefore Thy servant loveth it."
(Psalm 119:140)
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