Is the pen mightier than the sword?
Throughout world history the written word has proved to be powerful. In Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, Yul Brynner as Pharaoh had an oft-repeated line—“So let it be written; so let it be done.” When Pharaoh’s words were written down, they became law.
The spoken words of men have great power. Over the years we have witnessed people spurred into action by motivational words spoken by the likes of a Martin Luther King, Jr. We have also seen masses whipped into evil frenzies by the likes of an Adolf Hitler.
Even though man’s written and spoken words do have undeniable power, yet compared to God’s written and spoken Word—well…there is no comparison.
Imagine! What was conceived in God’s mind was merely put into spoken words in order to be brought into existence!
God simply spoke His Word, and the world came into being!
Imagine! What was conceived in God’s mind was merely put into spoken words in order to be brought into existence! The Word of God, Jesus Christ, brought forth out of nothing all that we would need to keep body and soul together in this life.
To merely speak and it is done—what awesome power our God has!
To merely command—and angels speed to perfect completion of assigned tasks! Again, what awesome power!
Man’s words have nowhere near this kind of power.
In our lives mere words often fail to produce any desired results.
Our human wills, desires, and designs can easily be thwarted by others
or by circumstances beyond our control. Unfortunately, often our words are false and hateful, cruel and unkind, not befitting the tongue of a
child of God.
Think of this: correctly viewed, our criticisms of things in God’s world are actually digs against God Himself! When we “hate” things God has created (fruits, vegetables, animals, people, and so on), aren’t we in effect telling God He made a mistake in creating those blessings? Or when we complain about the weather—and who hasn’t?—aren’t we in effect telling God that His things aren’t quite good enough, and perhaps He should improve on them a bit?
When tempted to criticize, belittle, or rundown our Lord’s works,
or when tempted to be dissatisfied or bored with our Lord’s blessings, we need to join Job in saying, “I am vile;…I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further”
(Job 40:4-5).
Let us rather thank and praise our Father for all the wonderful blessings of His created world!
Although God finished His creating of the universe and all it contains during the first six natural days of history, His creative power is still evidenced in this world whenever and wherever His Holy Word is taught and followed.
Enemies of God can be changed, that is, made into new
creations of our Lord! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”
(2 Corinthians 5:17).
This creation of faith in the heart is no less a miracle than the calling forth of the stars and planets. Hearts cold and dead can be brought to life by the Holy Spirit with the regenerative power of God’s Word. A little child born dead in trespasses and sins can have new life created in it by the washing of water and the Word.
The creation of faith in our hearts is a marvel to rival the most majestic mountain peaks or spectacular sunsets. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:10).
We thank and praise our Triune God for using His powerful Word to create this wonderful world. We also thank and praise Him for using that same powerful Word to bring us to faith in our Savior Jesus so that we can look forward to living forever with Him in the new heavens and new Earth.
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness; At Thy speaking it was done.
For created light we thank Thee, While Thine ordered seasons run.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia, Alleluia without end!
Thy strong word bespeaks us righteous; Bright with Thine own holiness,
Glorious now, we press toward glory, And our lives our hopes confess.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light doth send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end! (WS2000 #775 vs.1,3)