Dear Church, Commit to the Word
The abandoned wife in your community has experienced the trust-destroying damage of unkept promises. The ground beneath her feet feels shaky as she questions who to trust. The most life-giving gift to give her is the full counsel of Scripture.
The grass withers, the flowers fade,
but the word of our God remains forever.
(Isaiah 40:8)
Her marriage withered, her vows faded, but the word of her God remains forever. It is vitally important for you to remind her that the Word of God is unchanging and trustworthy.
She doesn’t need verses ripped from context or simplified platitudes. In our culture of “coffee mug verses”, she needs to hear a deeper message, a fuller story.
Dear Church, commit yourself to teaching the Word of God in its wholeness. Do not pick and choose verses you think might bring comfort. Call her mind to the overarching message of the Bible.
You may be reading and thinking, but I’m not a pastor! Friends, we all have the responsibility to invest ourselves in the ministry of the Word! Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
This verse is calling us to let the Word take root and make its home within us. As we gather with one another, that living Word will spill over to those in our community. We can speak the Word to one another. We testify to what is true as we sing biblically rich songs. Admonishing and teaching lead to a deeper knowledge of the character of God.
We can start with simple steps like praying Scripture, reading the Bible alongside, or sharing Bible passages. What is one step you could take today?
The abandoned women in your midst need to remember that there is One who promises and always fulfils. One Whose words will never wither or fade. Dear Church, we do this by committing ourselves to being people of the Word–studying, memorizing, sharing and living Scripture in our daily lives. And as we gather, we call one another to hope—firm and eternal hope as found in the precious Word of our unchanging God.