For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
At times, life can feel like we are navigating a jungle. As we make our way through the dense forest, we are all too aware of the dangers that surround us. Not only are we aware of these dangers, we feel helplessly ill equipped to deal with them when they emerge. Questions start to fill our minds - will I ever experience peace again? How will I get through this? I just don't feel I can go on any more?
What we need is a guide. In fact, the very reason people hire guides when they explore unfamiliar territory, is because they need the wisdom of someone who knows the ground ahead. Where do you first go for wisdom when the way ahead seems impenetrable? Perhaps it is a person, a website, a self-help book or a particular location. Although these places can be a source wisdom and help, might I suggest another that is so often overlooked - the Bible.
If we are to have any hope in navigating the jungle of life, there really is no greater source of wisdom than the living word of God. This of course is the chief claim of the Bible, that it is "...living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). The analogy of the jungle begins to break down here but stick with it for a little longer.
The writer to the Hebrews is saying that the words of the Bible are not simply dry spots of ink, they are alive! In deed during the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday 2nd June, 1953, upon being presented with the Bible, the moderator said these words, "Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law; These are the lively Oracles of God". Perhaps we have lost sight of this assertion in our increasingly technological age where the Bible has been pushed aside as dusty, old fashioned and out of touch with modern 21st century life. And so in concluding this train of thought, to put it bluntly, either the Bible is an inspired book with words breathed by the living God, or it is not. If the former is true, then the Bible truly is wisdom to end all wisdom, the guide we so desperately need as we journey through the jungle of life.
You see no matter how much machete waving goes on in the jungle, the origin of our problems lies much closer to home. We might think that the solution is found in cutting down the leaves of my circumstances, however this implies that in order for my life to change, I simply need to change what is around me. And so it follows, the more leaves I cut down, the closer I will come to finding the path and making my way out of the jungle.
Remember the words of the writer to the Hebrews? Here they are again, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Notice how the word of God, the Bible, is described as a two-edged sword, piercing not the things around us, but the very things that make us who we are. Also note how the word of God, the Bible, discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This is what the Bible seeks to uncover, not so much the circumstantial and influential realities around us, although these are important, but the deeper realities of the human heart. Only then can we truly find the wisdom we need to navigate the jungle ahead.
Wisdom Personified
To end this blog post, I feel it's important to mention one more thing. If I can put it this way, the wisdom of the Bible goes beyond itself. We should never read the Bible in such a way that we forget the one it is pointing to. The Bible is all about Jesus! If my reading of the Bible is to simply gather facts and information to help me along my way, then I've missed the point. Jesus says:
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (John 5:39-40).
There is much wisdom to be found in reading the Scriptures, but let us not forget, that true life and true peace is only found in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul writes, he is the one in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
Jesus is the guide we all need. He is the only one who can not only help us navigate the jungle of life, he is one who makes sense of the jungle. He made it, he owns it, who else would you want by your side?
You see no matter how much machete waving goes on in the jungle, the origin of our problems lies much closer to home. We might think that the solution is found in cutting down the leaves of my circumstances, however this implies that in order for my life to change, I simply need to change what is around me. And so it follows, the more leaves I cut down, the closer I will come to finding the path and making my way out of the jungle.
Remember the words of the writer to the Hebrews? Here they are again, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Notice how the word of God, the Bible, is described as a two-edged sword, piercing not the things around us, but the very things that make us who we are. Also note how the word of God, the Bible, discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This is what the Bible seeks to uncover, not so much the circumstantial and influential realities around us, although these are important, but the deeper realities of the human heart. Only then can we truly find the wisdom we need to navigate the jungle ahead.
Wisdom Personified
To end this blog post, I feel it's important to mention one more thing. If I can put it this way, the wisdom of the Bible goes beyond itself. We should never read the Bible in such a way that we forget the one it is pointing to. The Bible is all about Jesus! If my reading of the Bible is to simply gather facts and information to help me along my way, then I've missed the point. Jesus says:
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (John 5:39-40).
There is much wisdom to be found in reading the Scriptures, but let us not forget, that true life and true peace is only found in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul writes, he is the one in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
Jesus is the guide we all need. He is the only one who can not only help us navigate the jungle of life, he is one who makes sense of the jungle. He made it, he owns it, who else would you want by your side?
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