There is so much depth to your Word,
your teaching…
so much depth to YOU, Lord.
I think what you want from us
is to continue to dive into the depths with you,
to dive into the full dimensions of your teaching,
to see its many facets and how it encompasses
everything we would face in life.
It amazes me how I can understand and see truth in your teaching,
and then… there is more!
Your Word—it’s deeper and more relevant
than I’ve ever noticed before!
Your teaching never contradicts itself.
How could it?
It comes from you,
and you cannot and do not contradict yourself.
Your Word stretches me to become.
It’s not content to leave me where I am.
It’s a catalyst for change…
or it’s a block to stumble on if I refuse to.
Your Word is challenging.
It forces me to decide who I will be.
It will not be ignored.
The issues it addresses are always in front of me.
Your Word doesn’t ask me if I like it,
or if I approve of it.
It asks me to be like it.
It pushes me out of my comfort zone…
out of my safety…
and prevents me from blending in
and remaining silent about injustice.
It strips away any power I think I have
in and of myself to be good enough
or strong enough.
It exposes me.
It inspires me.
It pushes my limits.
It dares me to be radical.
It gives no room for conformity to the world,
but provides ample space for my transformation.
Your Word, Lord, stands.
It holds up.
It outlasts time and people’s opinions of it.
It endures our scrutiny and our distrust of it.
It never changes.
It is truth.
No matter how much I rail against it
or weep and wail over its commands,
it never changes.
It never gives in to my complaints
or my disapproval.
And there it is before me.
Unchanged.
Unscathed.
Unaffected.
But I am changed.
I am cut to the heart.
I am affected so deeply by it
that I cannot remain the same.
To do so brings me grief and discomfort
greater than any discomfort obedience
to your Word might bring.
Your Word formed me…
transformed me.
It is a part of me.
It is my life.
And I am only fully alive when I allow
the truth of your Word to permeate
every facet of who I am.
Only when I live in conformity to your Word
do I truly begin to live and experience
life in abundance.
“Love your enemies.”
“Pray for those who persecute you.”
So unnatural.
But perhaps to embrace this catapults me
into a realm of living I cannot experience
without doing so.
It’s your kind of love.
And it is meant to be shed abroad
in my heart.
Hard?
Yes.
Impossible?
No.
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
