Title: THE LIFE-GIVING WORD OF GOD
Focus: Let the life-giving Word of God shape your life.
Function: To encourage the people to embrace and live with God’s Word at the center of their lives.
Text: I Peter 1:17-25
25 milligrams of chemicals, packed into a pill no larger than the head of a small nail—makes up the difference between life and death for millions of Americans who suffer from chronic high blood pressure. Thank God for such an impressive little pill with a powerful punch to sustain life. That pill, however, is nothing compared to God’s life-giving Word.
Early this summer I went to Home Depot and bought some huge fertilizer spikes. They are the size of railroad spikes used to nail down and keep in place the railroad tracks. These fertilizer spikes have the power to revitalize and restore Pine trees to health and vitality. I thought that was impressive. Those spikes, however, are nothing compared to God’s life-giving Word.
Home-made bread is a favorite item of nourishment for many. I still remember my grandfather’s old farmhouse. In the back of the kitchen there was an old oven, specifically built to bake bread. That oven produced many loaves of bread for a large family, which thrived on the healthy, home-grown ingredients found in that bread. But that home-made bread is nothing compared to God’s life-giving Word. That’s why I say to us today: Let the life-giving Word of God shape your life. Embrace God’s Word and let it nurture you at the center of your lives.
As we reflect together upon the role or power of God’s Word on this Reformation Sunday, we do well to listen to God’s call in the apostle Peter’s letter to early Christians. In the passage we read there is a two-fold call. Listen to the first part of this call: (vs. 17) “Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”
Here we learn that the orientation of Christians is quite different from the orientation of others who live in the Roman empire. Many live as free people—Roman citizens, for example; Others live as slaves or hired men and women—their status and political orientation in life is limited. However, all people in the Roman empire—whether slave or free—live under the auspices and good will of the emperor, to whom loyalty and obedience, even worship, is required.
These early Christians, however, refuse to call Caesar their “lord.” The allegiance and orientation of Christians are with Jesus and his heavenly influence here on earth. That’s why Christians must view themselves as “strangers”—or as the apostle Paul says to the Philippian church: (Phil. 3:20) “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Our orientation in life is first and foremost that we are citizens of heaven. The rule of the ascended Lord Jesus shapes and forms us. And the style of our daily living must reflect “a reverent fear”—which is a constant realization that we are to do God’s bidding as found in his sacred Word.
The second part of God’s call in this passage comes to us in verse 23 “…love one another deeply, from the heart.” The politics of heaven are driven by love for God and neighbor. And Peter calls us today to live by the politics of heaven. But how can we live such lives of reverent fear, loving God and one another? How do we, as followers of Christ Jesus, exercise our heavenly citizenship?
The answer comes to us as we consider this passage’s teaching on the Word of God. In essence that teaching says: Let the life-giving Word of God shape your life! Consider:
God’s Word is truth. That is, it is reliable, straight from the heart and mouth of the God of truth, and therefore completely trustworthy. You and I can build our lives on God’s Word because it is truth. As truth, it purifies us from the countless lies that come to us from worldly philosophies and human wisdom. As truth, God’s Word anchors our perspectives in him and in his rule on earth. As truth, the Word of God now guides us to live as citizens of heaven, giving us a compass to steer our ship of life.
Philosophies come and go; pragmatic recipes for getting the most out of life come and go; God’s Word of truth, however, abides. Ever since God has revealed himself, especially in his sacred writings called the Scriptures, truth has guided his people throughout the centuries. God’s Word still guides us today. Let its truth shape your life and give it direction. Consider again:
Seeds contain within them a kernel of life. Plant a corn seed, for example, work with the right conditions, like warm soil, moisture, and sunlight—and the seed will reveal its life by sprouting roots, bringing forth stalks of corn, and producing a harvest of abundance. God’s Word contains the life-giving power of God himself. Just as human breath pulsates through our lungs and gives life, so God’s breath—his Spirit—pulsates in the Scriptures and gives life, new life, and generates life or rebirth in our souls. And since God is from everlasting to everlasting and cannot die, so his Word is imperishable. This is why Peter refers to God’s Word as “the living and enduring word of God.” Let the life-giving Word of God shape your life. Embrace it. And place it at the core of your daily living.
Two observations: As God gives us this “imperishable seed,” we must sow it. We do so by living out of it ourselves, by exemplifying its power in our lives. When our children see that grown-ups take seriously God’s Word, they get the message: the Word of God is important, life shaping, life-bringing.
I’ve seen the life giving power of God’s Word at work in senior citizens who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Their closest family members could no longer reach them; mothers did not recognize their daughters anymore; nor did fathers remember their sons anymore. How heartbreaking! Yet, when I would read a Psalm or Scripture passage, or when family members would sing a Psalm, a new life-giving energy, a light would flow into these people’s eyes—and seemingly from nowhere they would join their loved ones and sing along, or recite the rest of the psalm from memory.
Sow the word! By sharing it with others, whenever there is an opportunity or openness to it; live it by example, and declare it with confidence.
Also, do not tinker with God’s Word. Corn seed can be altered genetically, to improve crops and crop yields. But the Word of God does not need tinkering. Those who wish to minimize miracles in the Bible, who wish to explain away, for example, the resurrection from the dead as anything else but a literal rising from the dead—need to remember that God’s Word stands and endures forever. No tinkering, please. Simply embrace and live out of God’s Word. One final consideration from this passage:
Jesus died—that we may live.
Jesus rose again from the dead—that we may live a new life—today, and forevermore. Jesus ascended into heaven—that we may reflect his influence or kingdom here on earth; and Jesus will come again, to make all things new, to judge the living and the dead, and to glorify his people, so that we may live forever on the restored new creation.
This is the good news, the gospel, proclaimed to us as the Word of God. On this Reformation Sunday, let the life-giving Word of God shape your life. Embrace it and make it the center of your life!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.