The Living and Piercing Word

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 NKJ

Being the sword fanatic that I am, I have always latched onto the part in the verse about the Word of God being sharper than a sword. Recently I read it and felt like I saw the rest of the verse for the first time.

For starters, read the beginning of the verse. It says the Bible is alive and powerful, it’s not just a centuries old history book that isn’t relevant to the world today. And it's not just words on a page, dead and silent. I love books, but I have never found one that was actually living…until now. I don't even know how a book can be alive! I can't understand it, but it makes me really excited.

As I continued to read the verse I got to my favorite part about the sword. I always thought the Bible was used as a sword to fight the enemy. While this is definitely true, God’s Word is also a sword in the sense that it can convict us. If you have read a verse that was painfully convicting and relate able, you understand that the Bible can pierce through your soul and spirit. The Word is more like a scalpel at that point. A scalpel that God is using to preform heart surgery in areas of your life that need to be altered or removed.

Read the Bible, use it to battle the enemy, but be ready to take the knife to your own heart when God convicts you through His living, breathing Word.