This week I welcome guest blogger, Kirk Marks. Kirk is a retired pastor, having served 30+ years in both local churches with his wife, Debbie, and in denominational administration. He has also taught theology and led a pastoral assessment center for many years. He and Debbie, along with their two daughters and son-in-law are members of Faith Church. Kirk preached at Faith Church this past week, continuing our series on Relationships in the Church. I think you’ll find his thoughts as compelling and helpful as I did.
Think about some time in your life that was powerful, a time that had a real impact on you. Maybe this event changed the direction of your life, maybe teaching you an important lesson about life. Have a pivotal moment in mind? I’ll bet you are thinking about a time when someone said something to you. Our speaking to each other is powerful, isn’t it? Speaking can change the direction of our lives.
Think about it from the negative side, too. Think about some time in your life when you were really hurt, something that really emotionally traumatized you. I suspect those hurts are also from what was spoken to you. During my years as a pastor, I counseled many people in troubled and broken relationships because of things that were or were not said. My counsel to them would be, “You just have to talk to each other more.” Or “You have to stop talking like that to one another.”
As we think about the impact of words, let’s examine the title of this week’s series of blog posts: “Speaking life to one another.” The phrase “one another” comes from our understanding that we are disciples, following Jesus, together. Discipleship is not only individual, but it is an expression of community, together.
In previous weeks in this series on relationships in the church, we’ve talked about being a community together. We know that God has made us as human beings to do exactly that, to live in and be in community. We know that God himself exists in a self-giving, loving community of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together.
Just as God exists in community, he’s created us in his image to also exist in community. That’s how we live. That’s how we thrive. That’s how we flourish. Together we help each other be disciples, following Jesus effectively. As the writer of Hebrews suggests, “encourage and spur one another on” (Hebrews 3:13, 10:25). We spur one another on to follow Jesus in community together. We need each other as we’re practicing discipleship together.
In addition to “one another,” look at the “speaking” part of the title “speaking life to one another.” When we use the word “speaking,” many automatically think of public speaking, speaking in front of people like teaching and preaching. Those kinds of “speakings” are certainly part of the speaking that we do in the church.
But there are many other ways we talk to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ within the church family. We have private conversation during fellowship time and when we encounter each other through the week, or in a small group setting.
No matter the setting, speaking is powerful and important. The scripture clearly tells us this. Right at the beginning, Genesis chapter one explains, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” and what do we find there? “And he said, let there be light.” God somehow created by the power of speaking. I can’t pretend to understand or explain to you exactly how that worked, but there’s no question that what we find in Genesis is God speaking creation into order. Speaking is powerful.
In the beginning of the book of Hebrews, we’re told that God has been speaking to his people throughout history. He’s done it through the law. He’s done it through the kings. He’s done it through the prophets. He’s spoken to his people. And now in these latter days, he’s done it even more powerfully by sending his own son into the world, spoken to us through his son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2).
So God is speaking, and his speaking is powerful; powerful through the prophets, powerful through his word, powerful through his son who has come. He’s still speaking to us today by the Holy Spirit. God’s act of speaking is powerful, and our speaking to one another is also powerful.
Speaking powerfully influences how we look at things. Speaking impacts our emotions. Speaking impacts the direction of our lives. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, our speaking to one another can be powerfully helpful or harmful. Think about your practice of speaking. Evaluate your words, your tone, your body language. All of it is powerful in the lives of those around you. How are you speaking to one another?
Because speaking is so important, what is speaking life to one another? Check back to the next post!
Engaging Scripture 