09/06/2021
We find the Word of God, and the words of Jesus to be perfect and truthful, but there is much more to them than our minds can understand through simple reasoning; there is something we must experience that cannot be seen with the eye, it is like a sweetness in our mouth, the touch of a baby’s soft flesh against our cheek, the groan of prayer, or a warm breeze in our hair, no words can reveal the fullness of these things. This is how the Holy Spirit helps us, revealing God to us as we search the scripture, and this is how we come to know Jesus as we read the words He spoke to us on the mount, and from the cross.
“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
1 Peter 1:25 KJV
We read in scripture of the vine, and of bearing fruit, but nothing can prepare us for the feeling of a grape leaf rubbed between our fingers, the smell of a freshly pruned branch, or that first sweet taste of a perfectly ripe grape. Our words fall far short of God, and none can truly do justice to the life and love of Jesus… they fade like us, and whither, even as we write them… corruptible seed, and merely an extension of our physical selves.
“being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:”
1 Peter 1:23-24 KJV
However, words prepare us for the work of the Holy Spirit who slowly removes the veil from our eyes, and helps us experience God. He allows Himself to be revealed to us, a bit at a time, and in this way we feel Him welling up within us, His Word receiving flesh, and our hearts coming to know Him. Suddenly we feel the truth that words have fallen short of, the joy of God, the agony of Christ, and the fullness of what love is meant to be.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, Neither have entered into the heart of man, The things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 KJV
In this way Thomas didn’t believe, Paul became blind, and Peter denied the Lord. Had they understood in full none of these things would have happened, because they would have known Jesus fully, and felt Him within themselves as they later would come to know Him. In this way we too come to know God, and Jesus Christ… the Word gives us the foundation of our faith, but the Holy Spirit reveals to us the full depth, and meaning, of what our words cannot…
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
John 14:26 KJV
So we say words like joy, and peace, and rest, and we know them the best way we can through our own human nature, and language, but when we try to understand the the joy of God, and the peace of Christ, and the Rest that only God can give us, our words fall pitifully short. It is only through the Holy Spirit that their meaning is made real within us, and they come alive. So we read and reread scripture gaining another tidbit of understanding each time as the Spirit unveils it to us, and what we once thought of as who God was, or what Jesus meant, is suddenly so much more than we could have imagined.
“Quench not the Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19 KJV
Are we ready to quiet our own selves and open our hearts and minds to the Spirit? Are we ready to grow in faith, and know God, and Jesus, more today than yesterday? We say god is unchanging, and that Jesus is always the same, and this is truth, but how much of them have we received? Are we ready for the comforter, the Holy Spirit, to blossom within us?
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
Hebrews 13:8 KJV
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for your Holy Word, and the gospel of your Son Jesus Christ, but we thank you all the more for your Holy Spirit that reveals both of you to us in greater depth each day. Open our hearts wider Father, and let our knowledge of you be made more complete with each new revelation of the Spirit. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you who desires us to love you with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and who loves us so amazingly. Praised be your name for every new insight we receive into you, Jesus, and all the characteristics of yourselves that you wish to share with us. Merciful are you who forgives us, and amazing is your grace that redeems us and brings us into relationship with you. Wash us clean of our sin with the blood of Jesus, your perfect lamb. Welcome us to your table, and feed us there with a steady diet of your Word… allowing us to taste and experience it fully forevermore. Bring us to know you, and the sweetness of the Spirit’s fruit in its completeness, and let the meat of scripture be succulent and filling for our souls.
Rich Forbes