Does a word exist in your head before it is spoken? Or is it merely a thought?
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Today I embark on a fascinating journey of dissecting the relationship between the Son of God -- the Eternal Word -- and John the Baptist, "the voice of one crying the wilderness" (Jn. 1:23).
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So I go back to my question: does a word exist BEFORE it is spoken? The Psalmist says (139:4) "before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether." It seems then that words do come into being in our head, particularly as we meditate upon God's Word. But does that word have any power if disconnected from our tongues?
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This is an interesting question. Duck-tape everyone's mouth closed, and chaos would break out. Our heads would explode with un-expressed thoughts. Many would also wander in ignorance because they would not learn answers. The entire next generation would go to Hell.
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That is a chilling thought. It seems that God's design brings together the noun (person, place, or thing) with the verb (action). "In the beginning the Word already existed...I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness" (Jn. 1:1, 23). It was through the mission and proclamation of John that Jesus the eternal Word came into people's ears. And through their ears that same Person came into their hearts.
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How powerful is this Word? It brought the universe into being. It sustained a nation for millenia. It converts the souls of humans everywhere today. But the big news is that this Word is a person.
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Gone is the detachment of impersonal communication (I hate those automatic-lady telephone voices, "For English press 1, for Spanish press 2...!). In the Christian faith the Word becomes a living, blood-warmed Person whom I can embrace. Whom I can trust.
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No longer is the Word mere proposition. There is more than just agreeing with the Word. This Word is himself a Promise -- One whom I can take at his Word. I understand and believe -- and He understands me.
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So any word (think: "idea"?) needs a voice: an advocate, an incarnational embodiment of it. That's when people begin to notice it. Ideas have consequences, for good or ill. That's the genius of Christianity. God-ordained thoughts have delightful consequences. Call it the good life unearthed. In other words, we followers of Jesus (the Word-Body anomaly) are sitting on a goldmine of ideas.
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All it takes is voices. Tongues. Teeth. Lips. Speaking. The words are electric with power. They lie with current pulsing through them as a bundle of un-tapped potential. But the circuit is not closed. The loop remains incomplete until the voice kicks in.
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All this means that -- as Moses dreams (Nu. 11:29) -- when all God's people become God's prophets ideas get turned loose. In fact, the Person who is himself the Big Idea, begins to move. Where the Gospel is being voiced the saving power of Christ will be. And people will be saved. The elect will be gathered. Transformation will come.
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If we will be the voice, like John the Baptist was. Remember, it may cost us our life.
