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Finding an idea to blog about can be difficult at times. As a Christian writer, what can I come up with that hasn't been done before? Seems to me the 40 or so writers of the Bible probably covered it already. What do I have to contribute?
Let me answer my own question. We're called to use God's word to speak to things going on in the world today. Those of you in the family of God know the Bible is extraordinary in many ways, but no more so than in how it still applies to our lives, even thousands of years after it was written. The writer of Hebrews observed, "Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12 NRSV)
One of the reasons God's word is still relevant to us is because basic human nature hasn't changed. The early readers of God's word struggled with sin just like we do in this century. Oh sure, the customs and opinions and technical advances will change the way we live, but deep down, we humans are still carrying around the sin that Adam and Eve ushered into our DNA. (I wish I could go back in time--back to the earliest days of Adam and Eve--and yell out to her, "Don't listen to that serpent! Don't eat that apple!!") But looking back in time doesn't change what happened, and time travel is still the stuff of science fiction.
So here we are. A fallen race, and a sinful, prideful, people. We don't like to think of ourselves that way and, hallelujah to Jesus, we ARE different because of Him. But the battle continues on. The apostle Paul described it this way: "So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:21-24 NRSV)
Paul understood that he and everyone who is a Christ-follower has sin that "dwells in my (our) members" and is warring with the part of us that wants to do good ("I delight in the law of God in my inmost self"). But he also points to Jesus as the only One who can rescue him from it. So another reason God's word never changes is because God Himself never does. We change. We fail. We die. But God absolutely does not.
Okay, it's time for me to make a little confession. (Oh no, not again!) Honestly, I didn't know what to write about today. This blog post was supposed to be me asking you about your favorite Bible verses. (I may still use that one day, so be thinking about it, lol.) But isn't it wonderful that God can take just the tiniest bit of an idea and turn it into something He can use? Despite my meager brain?
What about you? How has God used your feeble efforts to accomplish something for His kingdom? Of, if you're willing to share, how do you find yourself struggling like Paul--"when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand"? And maybe when you're finished sharing here on this blog, you can go out and tell your story to others.
Until next time,
Toni
