by Travis Moore
How has God’s Word impacted your life? That question has been bouncing around my brain for a few days, and hence the topic of this week’s article. Naturally, when examining this topic, there is a tendency to run to a favorite verse or two; perhaps there is a chunk of Scripture that has helped you through a tough time in your life. Maybe there is a go-to chapter and verse that helps in situations of sorrow or grief during counseling sessions, or even a beautifully-scripted verse framed up nicely as part of your home decor.
Of course, these are all wonderful ways that Scripture impacts our lives; for me, though the biggest impact comes when understanding that these verses are indeed God’s Words. Reading the Bible with that in mind certainly adds impact to the words.
Like many of you, I grew up in church. In fact, I was brought to faith in a Southern Baptist church in small-town Virginia. During that time, attendance in Sunday school and the Royal Ambassador program was the norm. Naturally, there was a great deal of Scripture memorization going on but I can’t say that those verses greatly impacted my life; at that age I was in it for the stickers and pins!
At a young age, I became the product of a single-parent home. I wish that I could write about how rare that is, but unfortunately, it is far too common. God’s Word played a significant role in how I dealt with that situation internally as well as with those who hurt me. Admittingly, my first response to learning that my dad no longer wanted to live with us was repressive. Not wanting to talk about it made things seem more normal because I just wanted to fit in with my friends at school and church.
There were numerous times during my elementary and middle school years that he would call and schedule a time to spend time with my brother and me. Of course, we looked forward to those times, although he rarely showed up. These occurrences created feelings of both shame and anger, which is where the impact of Scripture proved to be the greatest. At the time there was no way to search the internet for Bible verses by theme, because there was no internet (at least not commercially where I was living). However, I distinctly remember a small group lesson about “becoming a new man.” The verses, penned by Paul with authority from the Holy Spirit, came from Ephesians. They spoke about what it really means to be a Christian and defining my life outside of just my situation.
This impactful bit of Scripture comes from the latter part of Ephesians 4. In verses 31 and 32, Paul writes that we are to, “let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And just be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” At the time this seemed like mere good advice, and a means to help me deal with the anger, sadness, and feelings of unacceptance that I was harboring toward my father. However, when I read those verses through the lens of “God is telling me these things directly,” the impact was magnified.
I used to hold a very vindictive view of my father for the emotional damage that his actions did to me. Vengeance and repercussions for his actions is what I thought I wanted, but realized through verses like the ones in Ephesians, that my place was to forgive and God’s place was to punish.
A common question that I often asked myself was, “why me?” How come I had to go through this? Although I don’t know that I have given myself a definitive answer to my own question, I like to think that I can be an example to others that have been hurt deeply. I do know that my outlook on life is different; I find myself being quicker to forgive others because I know what God has done to forgive me. Hate in our hearts is consuming, and I found that applying the “God’s Words” to Scripture has a meaningful impact as we navigate a sinful world as believers in Jesus.