Words

***
Again, to the diligent faithful, I apologize in advance for what may seem somewhat redundant and potentially confrontational. It's not my goal to be either. But there may be some that this speaks to. And if it does, then my heart again cries out for them to not only hear it, but to gain from it. Note that I confess that I am not myself perfect and that I greet each day with the hope that through my willing submission to, and participation with Christ's work in me that I'll become a better man than I was the day before.
***

Words, words and more words. They're everywhere. We use them and we abuse them. We write them, type them, think them, sing them and we say them. We throw them around. We bounce them off of other people and we direct them like darts. We deliver them with a smile and we shout them in anger. We record them on paper and plastic along with a host of other endless things. They paint pictures of things that are real and sometimes fantasies that never really existed. They can deliver joy and they can cause despair. They begin relationships and they destroy them suddenly. They build others up and they tear them down. They start wars and give birth to peace. Words.

But of all of the words ever spoken or recorded, none are more neglected than those absolute most important and critical to both our present and future well being and survival...

Picture this: You one day suddenly wake up to find yourself hopelessly chained to a live bomb. Attached to the bomb is a timer, rapidly ticking away the remaining moments that you have the opportunity to live and breathe before the remainder of your life is suddenly and explosively taken from you. Lying next to the bomb you find an envelope with a letter explaining how to diffuse the bomb ... just how important is that letter? Will you read it? Will you casually glance at it or will every word of that letter have your complete attention knowing that any hope you have for a life in the future hangs on your complete attention and understanding of those words?

In this life, we're inescapably tied to a choice and that choice has potential consequences far more devastating than a bomb. A bomb only has the potential to take our human present, that choice has the power to take our eternal future...

Some words are cheap, some are just plain worthless. We may sometimes use them carelessly and not even mean them. And in some cases the only proof to substantiate our words and give them any value at all are the actions that we take after we use them. For example, I can say that I believe that I'm a frog. Does saying those words make me a frog? Of course not. I can hop around all day croaking and eating flies, but you'll see me and instantly know that I'm not a frog. So my words have no value when I tell you that I'm a frog.  
John 4:23 (NLT) "But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way."

Our God hears our words and He also sees our actions. But even more, He sees and knows our hearts in combination with hearing and seeing what we say and do ... He sees us for who we are.

James 2:21-26 (NLT)
21 "Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. 25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works."

Now some equate "good works" with charitable acts and though I wouldn't choose to take anything away from them, I think perhaps there's more to understand from the spirit of those words. Take Abraham for example. His actions confirmed to our God that any words that he might have used to profess his faith had actual value. They both meant and were worth something that our God values highly. They were rendered true by his actions of obedience and his deference to the One he claimed with his words to believe...

(Dictionary.com)
Deference:
noun
1. respectful submission or yielding to the judgment, opinion, will, etc., of another.

I find myself doing a little soul searching even as I'm writing this because I fear His determinations and recognize His complete ownership and authority over my life. I can't help but wonder what my own actions are telling the One whose words alone breathed creation into existence - beyond just the words from my mouth. And of all the words that have ever been spoken or written down, is my devotion to the very Word of my God speaking to my deference toward Him? Am I seeking with desperation, His words, and giving them authority above any others to dictate the spirit of my own words and actions? His judgment of the value of my words will be complete. He will not only hear my words confessing my belief, but He'll see my actions and know my heart to determine the value of my words ...

Daniel 9:9 (NLT)
"But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him."

Fortunately for me (and all of us), we serve a forgiving God. As long as we have breath, we continue to have opportunity to to repent when we've erred and to confirm the value of our words of belief. Our deference to our God must be demonstrated in part by our willing desperation to give His words the highest place of authority. And we can only do that when we've first made knowing them in total, our high priority by eagerly and intently seeking them out - not only in word alone, but in spirit.

Because His words absolutely and inescapably matter more than any others...