The “tornado outbreak” that moved across several hundred kilometers of the United
States last weekend took over 100 lives and caused incredible damage to several communities. Among the striking aftermath photos circulating was one of a church in Kentucky, daylight illuminating rows of pews beneath the few roof planks that remained. Heavy red bound books remained neatly tucked into the backs of each bench. “The Bibles remain untouched!” proclaimed one caption citing Isaiah 40:8, “the grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of God endures forever.” If I could shut down a meme of the week, this would be it. This misconstrued text and implied Christmas miracle fails to elicit true worship and instead risks inciting discouragement and resentment. I shudder to think how the families who lost loved ones would view the declaration of a God who protects reprintable books but failed to protect irreplaceable lives. The Enemy is hard at work to convince people to distrust their Creator; don’t be his agent. This is a gross misrepresentation of what the “word of God” is. The Gospel of John tells us, the Word of God is the Word made flesh who dwelt among us. Jesus is the Word of grace and truth, the Word of life for all humanity. The Word of Light that shines in darkness and will never be extinguished. The Word of hope that comforts those who mourn and those emerge traumatized from devastating circumstances. Let’s not water that down with false praise of a lesser “wonder”. The Bible’s printed pages hold no inherent power and cannot be treated as a special talisman that repels danger and evil, else we would insulate our walls and tile our roofs with these books. The logic doesn’t hold up when the church down the road has all its Bibles destroyed, or when some scrutinizing eyes discover the preserved books are hymnals! Don’t get me wrong, I believe God offers us signs in our darkest days to remind us His grace prevails and He has not forsaken us. But let’s be honest about the metaphors of resilience or beacons of hope instead of twisting scripture into a counterfeit Anti-Christ message. The Word of God that prevails and remains is Love. A Love for His children so great He would give His own life to save them.
