Scripture from Five Perspectives
"So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” Acts 20:32
One day at a time. Carpe Diem (Seize the Day). This too shall pass. Mind over matter. Mottos such as these can motivate, encourage, and inspire. However at a certain point they run out of their motivating power. The person who takes it one day at a time can become overwhelmed when worries about the many days ahead pile up. The person who seizes the day can lose the day when a few things don’t go their way right away in the morning. One day, a motto can inspire new heights of achievements, but another day, the words fall flat.
The word of God’s grace is something entirely different than a motto. Where mottos can motivate through catchy wordplay and tried and true patterns, God’s Word motivates through the working of the Holy Spirit in the recipient’s heart. Where mottos can encourage through historical precedent, God’s Word encourages through God's precedent of sins forgiven on the cross. Where mottos can inspire through personal faith in the truth of the motto, God’s Word inspires through the Holy Spirit granted faith in the truth of God’s promise of an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. God’s Word never runs out of power to lead you in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. The word of God’s grace builds up men like Martin Luther to stand firm on scripture in the face of persecution.
The word of God’s grace has the power to build up all who hear His Word. God’s Word has power to grant an unobtainable inheritance to all those who are sanctified. The preaching of God’s Word turns the unobtainable into the already-attained through Jesus' victory. While most things do pass in this life, how wonderful that Jesus’ words shall never pass away and that those words work daily miracles in the hearts of those who hear and keep them.
Savior, Your word is truth, sanctify me by Your truth. Amen