Ouch! First part of sermon,,,
Ouch! The Word of God. Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31
“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.”
Years ago, before I had Eleanor, when I was moving into a flat, a friend of mine gave me this knife. She had 2 young children and she was terrified that one of them would get their hands on it, so she wanted to get it out of the house and gave it to me. Perhaps I’m not such a caring mum, or maybe it’s the difference between having one and having two to look after, but all through having Eleanor as a baby and then a toddler and now as a very sensible teen-ager, I have kept this knife. Yes, it’s sharp, yes it’s a bit scary, but it’s a really useful knife – especially for cutting meat – and I’ve never yet hurt myself with it, because I’m always really careful how I use it and it always goes back in this cardboard sleeve before it goes back in the drawer.
The letter to the Hebrews warns us that the Word of God is like this scarily sharp blade. What's important is how you handle it.
If you use God's word as a weapon to attack others, the chances are you'll get caught yourself and find you are the victim of its sharp edge.
At the same time if we are forgetful of the Word (the equivalent of sticking it, uncovered, in a drawer and trying to forget about it) it can damage us as we try to go about our lives and suddenly come upon it, unaware.
What we need to do is handle it with respect and care and use it as a useful tool where a little 'trimming' is needed in our lives.
So to the gospel....
... to be continued
“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.”
Years ago, before I had Eleanor, when I was moving into a flat, a friend of mine gave me this knife. She had 2 young children and she was terrified that one of them would get their hands on it, so she wanted to get it out of the house and gave it to me. Perhaps I’m not such a caring mum, or maybe it’s the difference between having one and having two to look after, but all through having Eleanor as a baby and then a toddler and now as a very sensible teen-ager, I have kept this knife. Yes, it’s sharp, yes it’s a bit scary, but it’s a really useful knife – especially for cutting meat – and I’ve never yet hurt myself with it, because I’m always really careful how I use it and it always goes back in this cardboard sleeve before it goes back in the drawer.
The letter to the Hebrews warns us that the Word of God is like this scarily sharp blade. What's important is how you handle it.
If you use God's word as a weapon to attack others, the chances are you'll get caught yourself and find you are the victim of its sharp edge.
At the same time if we are forgetful of the Word (the equivalent of sticking it, uncovered, in a drawer and trying to forget about it) it can damage us as we try to go about our lives and suddenly come upon it, unaware.
What we need to do is handle it with respect and care and use it as a useful tool where a little 'trimming' is needed in our lives.
So to the gospel....
... to be continued
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