Why do I write? I write because Jesus is the Word of God.
What? You want more detail? Okay, let's revise and try again.
Why do I write? I write because words have meaning, and I endeavour to fit words like musical notes of pitch and rhythm into phrases of truth and meaning—to communicate truth, to become more truthful, more full of truth. I write, in short, because Jesus is the Word of God.
Have you ever stopped to consider that phrase, its meaning and implications? It's a phrase of definition and clarity: six words which pulse like an artery at the heart of theology.
Have you ever stopped to consider the centrepiece, the “the”? One of the most definite of definite articles. It declares the completeness of Jesus being the Word of God. No other Word or words were necessary or even possible, because Jesus was and is the one and only Word. No other was necessary because Jesus perfectly represented God by being his Word. He perfectly was God by being his Word. Any other Word would have been impossible because no other Word could represent any other aspect of God with the exactness of Jesus. Jesus is the only Word, the same and eternal Word forever—that created and will destroy; that saved and will judge; that was sinless and became sin; that was, is and will be the Alpha and Omega.
And yet Jesus is the Word of God: the Word that was spoken out by God with the breath that is Spirit. When we speak, we bring our words into being as a representation of our thoughts and feelings—of the state of our heart and mind. We expect others to judge us, to relate to us and to know us by the words that we speak, because words must have meaning and a quality of relationship. God has spoken and Jesus is the Word that was spoken, the perfect and exact representation of his being—the perfect medium and message by which to communicate to mankind—the perfect bridge of relationship between sender and receiver (by the medium of breath and Spirit).
When God speaks, he communicates perfectly: he communicates in Truth. In basic media theory, the simplest model of communication is that in which a sender sends a message via a medium to a receiver. This poses a problem because every medium is corrupted in some form and will, in turn, corrupt the message. There is no medium that can communicate a message and all the full range of emotions, humour and layers of meaning of human communication perfectly. You can never converse properly with another person because the words they use will be imperfect; you may misread their body language; even the air particles will conspire to absorb and misdirect the sound so that you mishear the words they say. This is a problem that should be at the forefront when we think of God trying to communicate his Truth: How can God communicate perfectly in a world full of mediums that are corrupted by sin?
For God to communicate his Word of Truth, it is necessary that he communicate in perfection, through himself in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, the Breath of God is the necessary medium that is perfect ... incorruptible. The Holy Spirit is the perfect medium because he is perfectly God and completely in sync with the nature and content of sender, medium and receiver. The Spirit is part of the message because it is equal with Jesus, as both Jesus and Spirit are equal with God. Hence, no communication can ever take place in truth without the Holy Spirit. No man or woman may come to the Lord without the Spirit making changes in his/her heart, preparing the way for the message. No person may read and understand the Word of God without the Holy Spirit giving him/her access to the perfect medium by which s/he may understand that which is written.
Therefore, to know God, we must and can only know him through his Word. We must strive to know him better as we wrestle with the scriptures (the Word of God). We must strive to know him better as we, through the Holy Spirit, are transformed into the image of the God whose glory we see. We will know God more by better knowing his Son, his Word, his perfect and complete representation upon this earth. We will know God more by better knowing Jesus' teachings and actions, and by better understanding his cross and his empty grave.
We must understand that our words represent us because we are in the image of God and therefore our words also have meaning, power and purpose. But, because of our sinfulness, we can use our words to harm, to hate, to kill and deceive, to curse God and to deny truth. If we understand that Jesus is God's Word, we will have care over every word that we speak, weighing its truth and value and purpose—whether it will build up or destroy those we speak it to.
I write, then, because I want to better understand what I say and how I say it. I must strive for greater clarity and force of truth in my words.
In truth, I write because Jesus is the Word of God.
Guan also writes because he has too much time on his hands; it's better than contemplating the future after he finishes his Arts (Media and Communications) degree.
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