Like many Christ followers, I have a lot of Bibles. Most of them sit on my shelf next to all kinds of other books. However, the Bible is so much more different than those other books. Look what the Bible says:
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17
The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63b
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. Hebrews 4:12
According to just these three verses, the Bible is:
Truth: Not just true, but truth. Many books on my shelf may be true – biographies, etc…, but the Bible alone is truth.
Spirit: There are powerful things happening in the spiritual realm that we usually can’t see, and that is where God’s Word resides. It is this Spirit that gives us life.
Living: Most books are made from dead trees. While the Bible may also be printed on paper, it is just as alive, if not more so, than you and I are. I don’t claim to fully understand that, but I am amazed by it!
Active: When I read the Bible, it is not full of passive words on a page. Unlike my other books, the burden of changing my life when reading the text does not rest on me, but on the Scriptures themselves.
I want to encourage you to take a moment to thank God for the very nature of His Word. It is truth, spirit, living and active – and offers us life. In the beginning was the Word and that Word became flesh – Jesus. May our response be like Peter’s, who saw Jesus’ words for what they truly are:
After this many of [Jesus’] disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:66-68
The Bible, the Word of God, don’t just read it – live it!