The Weapon by My Bed

(Originally posted 8/18/06 on another site)

Earlier this summer I was over at my parents' house. My dad was getting ready to go target shooting and invited me along; I was bored, so I went. Now you have to understand, my dad is a bow hunter. This means he has a compound bow and a hundred accessories (including a tool to fletch arrows i.e., re-feather them). Before we left the house, my dad had me try to pull the bow so that I could shoot a little. He laughed at me when I couldn't do it then he told me it is 68 pounds to pull back. I told him I'm a girl and proud of it. When we arrived at the gallery, Dad rented me a bow. It was only a 35 pound pull, but gosh-darn it, I hit the target. Dad reassured me that I was doing well, and I couldn't take down an elk, but I could kill a deer. Or a human.

Later in the summer, I went with Dad and Bryan, my brother-in-law, to the Washington Park outdoor range. They like to go there because, well, it's outside, and also because they can shoot from a variety of distances. I was bored sitting around, so I asked Dad if I could shoot his bow. I held the bow, and he helped me pull it back (because of the way compound bows are made, it takes less strength to hold it at full-draw than it does to pull it back). He backed off so I could release, and boy, that bow is powerful. I could barely control it enough to get the arrow in the hay bale.

It wasn't until I held my dad's bow at full draw that I really recognized the power of that particular weapon. It reminded me of the times we'd gone firearm shooting. Every time I hold a handgun, I'm in awe of and intimidated by the power contained in that device. The damage I could do from a flick of my finger with both weapons is daunting.

These thoughts about weapons got me to thinking about a verse in the Bible that reads, "For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires." Other translations call it a sword instead of a knife, but regardless of word choice, the Bible is definitely comparing the word of God to a weapon. Since the sword/knife was the weapon of the day when this was written, I suppose we could say that the Bible is more powerful than the highest caliber rifle, or more penetrating than the fastest arrow, and keep the essence of the verse.

The more I thought about this, the more I realized that I don't treat the Bible as a powerful weapon. I let it sit by my bed, inanimate unless I'm reading. I don't lock it up to keep it away from children and irresponsible adults; I don't take it apart and store the sections separately to prevent accidents. That would be silly. The power of the Bible is not in its physical manifestation, but the impact it has on our inner lives. That verse concludes with, "It exposes us for what we really are."

The Bible is a weapon that destroys lives to renew them. It's a paradox. The Bible cuts through our pretense to expose who we really are: selfish people living for ourselves, wrapped up in our pride, trying to look good. It destroys everything we create for ourselves. A weapon that kills.

However.

The thing it destroys, sin, is worthy of destruction. Another part of the Bible comes to mind: "And Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

The Bible cuts deeply. If you have experienced spiritual conviction you know what I mean. It hurts when pride is destroyed and you realize your depth of selfishness; especially when, like me, you've lived an entire life as a "good" Christian. But like the passage above, the Bible not only cuts, it heals. Without the pain of sin being excised, there is no reconciliation with God, or with each other.

"Living power" is what that first verse calls the strength in this weapon called the word of God. So lying by my bed, a simple object, there is no power in it. The power happens when I know what is written. For me, that means memorizing it. I have found no better way to experience the word of God in my life than to meditate and memorize parts of it. If you want to experience this power in your life, give it a try. I suggest starting with Matthew 5, the teachings of Jesus.