Thankful for God's Enduring Word

Sunday - November 8th

Day 8: Attitude of Gratitude

Scripture to Read Today: 1 Peter 1:22-25

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As the Scriptures say, "People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever."

1 Peter 1:24-25 NLT

The only way the modern world knows of the great 4th Century B.C. Greek philosopher Aristotle is via a circuitous route of ancient text fragments and multiple layers of translation. Here is our complicated path to resources telling us of Aristotle, his life, and his teachings: Everything we know about Aristotle comes from Latin translations by Roman Catholic monks of Spanish Jewish recitations of Arabic Muslim texts translated from Syriac using surviving fragments of Koine Greek documents that quoted him second-hand from Attic Greek sources ("The Rediscovery Of Aristotle." Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 29 Oct. 2020).

That is a complicated resourcing of our historical understanding of Aristotle and his life. So many layers and limited data may have left us with a skewed view of one of the greatest philosophers in world history. Our working knowledge of him stands on shaky ground.

What we know (with evidence) of the historical Aristotle pales compared to what we know (with evidence) of the historical Jesus Christ. When we compare the direct resources we have to the life, ministry, and teaching of Jesus Christ to Aristotle's indirect resources, we have so much more evidence regarding the historical Jesus than the historical Aristotle. We have thousands of manuscript fragments of the New Testament (including the Gospels) written in their original koine Greek. With these resources and many indirect resources (like we have for Aristotle), we have a first-hand accounting of Jesus of Nazareth.

God has sovereignly preserved His Word for us today. Unlike ancient historical figures such as Aristotle, the farther removed we get from Jesus' life, the more evidence we discover to support the biblical narrative. God has ensured that His Word thousands of years later still stands as a reliable, historical document. Beyond that, it provides transformational power, hope, and peace for our lives as we meditate on it and choose to obey it.

1 Peter 1:24-25 quotes Psalms 119:89 when it says, "The Word of the Lord remains forever." Peter compares the way grass and flowers quickly grow in a field and just as quickly fade away to the enduring Word of God. God's Word is settled in heaven. God has wonderfully preserved it here on earth for us through the ages.

In this month of focus in our Take5s on cultivating an attitude of gratitude, let's thank God for His enduring Word today. God has left us the Scriptures as a love letter to us and a guide for our lives. Do you spend time in His Word daily? Each day's Take5 devotional has a passage to read. Don't skip the reading of that passage. I encourage you to read it each day and then read the devotional. Perhaps you want to read a chapter in God's Word each day apart from these devotionals. That is great! If you don't know where to start, I encourage you to start with the Gospel of John.

Thank God His Word endures the test of time. It provides a clear picture of Who we are and why God sent Jesus!