Hebrews 4:12-13-- Nothing is Hidden

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-13

I grew up in a family with a spiritual situation like many others: we went to church regularly, but I didn't have any real dealings with God the other six days of the week. One episode, I think, particularly highlights this interesting tension.

I was in high school, and I had for the first time become really interested in Jesus and my faith. One day, I wanted to use a Bible for some reason-- whether to consult a particular passage or just to read, I don't remember. At any rate, I asked my mom if we had one and the search began. That search ended with me holding a dusty copy of a King James Bible. (Seek, and ye shall find... a stodgy, outdated, nigh unreadable translation of a book.)




I won't delve any more deeply into my family's past. Maybe your family situation was a lot like mine, or maybe it wasn't. But here's the real question: what about your current life? Does your interaction with God's Word reflect what you profess to believe at church functions?

And if not, why doesn't it? I think for many of us it's because we don't know how to read it. If we just treat the Bible as a collection of spiritual truths and read it as such, instead of as a "double-edged sword," we miss an opportunity for God to change our hearts. Thus, we don't feel like we're getting anything out of it. It can feel like drudgery or mystery.

But the Word is meant to do so much more in our lives. This principle is never clearer than in our passage-- Hebrews 4!!

The author has just described our invitation to enter God's Sabbath-rest, an invitation that was squandered by the ancient Israelites whose hearts were hardened in the wilderness. Now, if the Bible were just a book of spiritual truths, you and I could nod our heads and say, "Those ancient Israelites were foolish in their disobedience. We'd better not be foolish too."

And that sentiment would be perfectly true. In fact, that message is indeed presented in the chapter. But how does the author describe this story's intended purpose? A sword. To be sure, the scariest sword ever described, because it cuts to the deepest parts of us.

What is the Bible's (and in this case, Israel's story's) ability to cut us deeply? It's the fact that, under the light of the Word, "everything is uncovered and laid bare". This is the key: a story about ancient Israel uncovers me and lays bare me. When I read of their disobedience and hardness of heart, it reveals my brokenness and my need for a Savior.

Of course, when I read of God's gracious and merciful love toward Israel even in the midst of their rebellion, that reminds me of my story too.

(For more on how to let the Bible mercifully divide us like a double-edged sword, you should read Keith Johnson's excellent article posted here.)