Hope

They’re Just Words


“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me”

Children often respond to the taunts of their peers with lyrical retorts of their own. Successful rejoinders not only insult their opponents but also disarm the previous litany of words. It’s a deft strategy similar to the ones superheroes use to stop a would-be assassin’s bullets. Sure, the assailant gets the shot off, but the impact is blunted.

The problem with this strategy, however, is that it’s grounded on a fallacy. The children say that the words are insignificant, but we all know that’s not true. Someone once took the response and made it more accurate by acknowledging the impact words can have. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can break my heart.” We want to believe that words are just words, that they have no significant to our lives and that they can be quickly disregarded. However, having been stung by the pain of someone else’s words, we all know that this is simply a wish that remain unfulfilled.

However, there are times when words are just words. Not in the sense that the children on the playground mean it, but in the sense that the words are apt, appropriate, and are the words that should be spoken at the time. Often times we hate to hear these words of justice, words that show are insufficiency in comparison to God’s perfection, words that reveal that sin that prompts our actions. Sometimes, words uncover that which we want to remain hidden, but just like the judge issues a just pronouncement of a criminal’s sentence, words can also be used to reveal the just punishment of God that we all deserve.

The good news is, that the words Christ said on the cross were not “You are guilty”, but “it is finished.” He paid in full the penalty for the wrongs that we committed. These words were anything but insignificant. They are the proclamation of our salvation. They signify that our punishment has been paid by another. It was a travesty of justice, and a pronouncement of grace. They weren’t just words, but they were the triumph of a Savior.

Continue Reading

Hope

Not Yet Known


Throughout my life I’ve become notorious in my family for losing cameras. I’m not sure what it was, but for some reason, I never could seem to keep a camera in my possession for very long. It was an expensive, as well as annoying, predilection. Yet despite the angst it caused me, there was little doubt that at some time in the future a new camera would once again become an unintentional donation to another person. It seems as if the lesson was just never learned.

Sometimes our relationship with God can feel like that. We walk with Him, we talk with Him, and we think we have this whole Christianity thing down. Then something happens; usually something unforeseen and something that prompts conviction, and we realize that our well-maintained religious facade is masking our heat’s need of some serious restoration from our Lord and Savior.

The good thing is that we’re not the only ones who have experienced this. In B.B. Warfield’s book “Faith & Life” (which I am reading based on a recommendation from a trusted friend) he opens with a recount of the life of Elijah. Elijah was a man who had a specific task grated to him by God, and who’s character was uniquely suited for accomplishment of this task. A man of strong moral conviction, Elijah was to warn the Israelites about the consequences of their sin. Despite the fact that here was a man who was literally on a mission from God, on numerous times he had to face the fact that he did not fully understand Him. As Warfield demonstrates, among Elijah’s hard-learned lessons was trusting in God’s provisions, being charitable towards others’ sufferings and more. Elijah was a man who heard directly and audibly from God and yet for him, there was always a part that remained unknown.

So it is with us. Despite our deepening understanding of God, there will always be new lessons for us to learn. While daunting, this is also a beautiful reminder that He is altogether different from us. And its His difference that allow us to trust Him and rely on His unwavering faithfulness. Unlike my propensity for losing cameras, God never loses us. So even when we feel like we know nothing at all, we can know that. And when we don’t understand what’s happening in our life, we can take comfort in the fact that for us, as was with Elijah, He is fully, not yet known.

Continue Reading