Daily Archives: January 10, 2017

Receive the word of God, not as the word of men,
but as it truly is, the word of God.  (1 Thes 2:13)

If you think about, that brief statement from St. Paul says a lot and none of it should make us proud.  “Receive the word of God, not as the word of men.”  The word of men?  I believe he is saying that our word is relatively useless.  We give our word rather easily.  We do it, generally, to get our way, to make our life easier.  So often, when we give our word, it does not mean a whole lot.

If you want proof of that, just look at what we tell our children.  We let them know that others should not be trusted.  We tell our children to watch other people’s actions to see if they are consistent with their words, we tell our children to “read the fine print” when it comes to examining documents so that we are not cheated, we let our children know that most people lie.

There was a shameful reality in the early Church (and often continues today) where people used the words of Christ to their own advantage.  They would quote Jesus only when it meant that they would further their own cause.

Paul reminds us that we need to appreciate the word of God in its pure form:  Jesus.  We are to listen to His words.  We are to follow His example.  We are to make sure that we do not let others deceive us and lead us down false paths that will lead to our ruin.

If you want to know what a particular passage of scripture means, you can ask one hundred different people and get one hundred different interpretations.  That is why we need to take the time to cultivate a relationship with Jesus so that we will have a better chance of understanding what He means not only to us but to our world.

The Word of God delivered people from bondage to the devil.  The Word of God cured people’s ills.  The Word of God raised from the dead.  The Word of God set captives free.  The Word of God was a living testament to the love that God has for each and every one of us.

FAITH ACTION:  Take our your Bible, turn to a favorite passage or story and reflect upon God’s Holy Word today.