Attending to the Word

Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what wisdom is in them?
Jeremiah 8:9
The "word of the Lord" does not always mean the same thing. In Genesis 1, it was the spoken word of God that brought the universe into existence. In Jeremiah's day, people preferred to listen to the lies of false prophets rather than the word of the Lord—meaning the words of God's prophets. According to John the Evangelist, Jesus himself was the divine Word. 

Our relationship to God's word today is primarily through its written form. This doesn't diminish, but enhances our ability to hear what God would say to us. The scriptures bear witness to the word in all its diversity and complexity. 

So it's important that we take God's word seriously. Not to do so is rejection, and I think there are different forms that rejection might take. Most obvious is to say that the Bible is a bunch of fairy tales and reject it outright. People who do this really couldn't care less what Jeremiah might have said about them. But it's also possible to say, "The Bible is inerrant and I take every word literally." This attitude can make dialogue with the scriptures impossible, since it discourages consideration of culture, and how a 3000-year-old custom might not have relevance for today's believer.

What's most important is that we attend to the word. That we listen to what it's saying to us. And that, whenever possible, we participate in a community where understanding is sought and help is offered.

Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
 Hebrews 2:1
Prayer after thinking about today's devotion:
Be now my wisdom, and be my true word;
ever within me, my soul is assured;
Mother and Father, you are both to me,
now and forever your child I will be.
 New Century Hymnal #451 v. 2
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After your own thanksgivings & petitions, close with the Lord's Prayer.

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