Hebrews 4:12: The Living, Piercing, Discerning Words of God

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

How often have we heard that God's word is a sword? I know I hear it frequently, and so do you. But when you look at the verse, I see more than just a comparison between God's word and a sword. I see an attempt to explain why God's word is so very feared by so many people. We see that God's word is living and active- its so powerful that it takes on a life of it's own, seeking out the hearts of men and women. God's word is a living word, it never contradicts itself but there is something for everyone in any situation. God's word is active in the lives of those who hear it as well. It pops up in our minds frequently, affirming us when we are down yet correcting us when we are wrong. A verse or a passage or even maybe just a couple words from a hymn will come to mind in whatever situation we may be facing and somehow it will be just what we need to hear, no matter if we like it or not.

God's word is sharper, piercing, going straight through whatever may be in the way of it's passage, cutting us to the quick. Like a surgeons scalpel it cuts away the dead tissue in our lives, removing the cysts and tumors of sin and allowing healing to begin. It finds the smallest nooks and crannies wherever anything other than God may be hiding and it does it's delicate work. It lances the boils of oppression and the pimples of perfidy. It sunders the sores of temptation and it even removes the bunions of bereavement. There is nothing so sharp, so piercing, so unstoppable in our lives as God's word.

His word is also discerning. It looks deep inside our heads and our hearts and finds what resides there, and it lets us know what it finds. Like a black speck on a white surface, it brings light to it and condemns us for our failure in house cleaning. It reminds us of how despite our own best efforts we are not, cannot, and will never be good enough or perfect enough. It shows our constant falling short of the mark, and in our disgrace it shows us a better way. It whispers to us “You may miss the mark, but there is one who always hits the target and He is willing to help you” It tears us down inside, removing our best prepared self-delusions, showing our base and fallen nature. Then it builds us up. It affirms our love of God, our perseverance in the face of adversity, our tenacity in seeking after God, and then it asks us to do more, work harder, persevere longer, love deeper, and hold on tighter. And despite our frequent mistakes, it tells us that we are doing better today than we did yesterday, we did better yesterday than we did last week, and so forth. God's word plumbs the very depths of our being and despite finding us wanting, it provides the answers and works constantly to repair and make us whole.

The word of God surrounds us, and the more time we spend thinking about it and learning it, the more it can do in and through our lives. It longs to cure us of our fallen nature and instead bring us to full and total communion with God. Will you let it or will you ignore it yet again? Its your choice, but its constantly going to be there with you. I encourage you to  let God's love and grace reign in your life, listen to His soft word which resounds deep in your soul, and let it build you up whole and perfected in His righteousness. It is so very worth it.