There are two Watersheds from which we are nourished, and by which we derive the "Word of God." The first is God himself, expressed in the Person of his Son, Jesus. He, and he alone, is the Logos, The WORD. It is through him, and by him that all other representations of the "Word" is credentialed. His Truth, His Character, His teachings and His own credentials is the Standard by which all other thought and reality is measured. The second, by chronology and content are the written thoughts contained in the Scriptures that reveal the nature and pleasure of God. We worship the First. We honor and learn from the second.

As a young seminary student, I was taught that once the canon of Scripture was complete, that God no longer revealed himself on an individual basis, to humankind. All we need to know about God was to be found in the Bible. I have discovered, however, that such thinking is not only terribly myopic, it appears arrogant as well. We biblical students have no credibility to tell God when or how He should communicate.

The Bible, the canon of Scripture, is not an intermediary between you and God. Jesus is. It does not serve the purpose of a priest. Jesus does. You may now come boldly into the presence of God yourself. You may speak to him and interact with him on a person to Person basis. You do not have to have a Bible in your hand to connect with God. Jesus, The WORD, has made this possible.

This inter-connectivity with God and his Son, through the Spirit is absolutely essential to eternal life. This is why the psalmist said, If your word had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. And the word, delight, is wonderfully appropriate. Such intra-personal relationship with the Creator produces a vitality of life in human experience that in itself, is a source of sublime nourishment. "Intra-personal" means communication with one’s self. That is not what is meant here.

What is meant is communication that takes place within one's self, as in the apostle Paul's notion that His Spirit bears witness with our spirit . . . While the communication takes place within the individual, it is nonetheless, communication between two real persons, yourself and God. It is, therefore, reciprocal. It feeds on itself and you and I are the beneficiaries of its blessing. It is intimacy with Jesus that words simply cannot adequately express. It is, indeed, delight beyond imagination.

-- PDM

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