His Words...

I have been mulling over this concept, this idea, this phrase, or in reality, these two words for the better half of this week. Let me share with you how it all began...

As a teacher, there are times when you ask questions to purposely get a certain kind of answer that you will then use to illustrate a point. Dangerous, yes I know, but often times effective. Well, I fell into this trap earlier this week. I was discussing with a class a first graders the Creation story. In my "Biblical wisdom" and "vast adult knowledge," I felt it was important that they understood two concepts; 1) God was/is responsible for all of creation 2) His power is so great He made our entire world out of nothing.

You can probably see where this is going...

I ask, "Who made the world?"

A sea of confident hands wave through the air. I choose one lucky hand that quickly and confidently responds, "God did."

"Yes, you are right. What smart first graders I have. Now I have a really tricky question, what did God make the world with?"
Again a sea of hands wave through the air. To ensure my needed answers I throw out some suggestions, "Did He use dirt to make the earth? Or maybe He used seeds?"

A couple of hands drop. These kids are on to me, they can smell the trick question.

Then, I select my victim. A tiny little girl named Bethany. You see, it is important to pick a child who the other children know is usually right, so your point is illustrated more accurately. Poor Bethany did not smell the trick, but I knew she would recover quickly from answering the question incorrectly.

"Bethany, what did God make the world with?"

It was odd to me, in a quick fleeting moment sort of way, how confident she was as she answered this question; "His Words."

To be quite honest, I don't remember much of the rest of that class. The weight of her answer had knocked the spiritual breath right out of me. I had tears pooling up. Yes, Bethany you are correct. I am sure I said that, but beyond that I am not sure.

His Words. What a nonsense answer for a first grader to give. Even if she was going to ruin my illustration by knowing the right answer she said it all wrong. A six year old should say something like "He said it" or "He used His voice" or "He just said it and it happened" not something as profound and theologically foundational as; His Words.

Now, I am not even attempting to claim she knew the magnitude of her answer, but I would not be surprised if she understood more than me.

But I do know this; there is great power and Truth in her answer.

I guess what I have grappled with most this week is this idea that if His Words "are living in my heart" or "are hidden, treasured, written in my heart", why is there little to no evidence of His power? Do I approach His Word understanding or believing it has the power to create something out of nothing? Do I speak His word to others believing it has the power to change their lives forever?

Why not?

Do you?

May His Words move us to deeper understanding...