There are three things that I would like to accomplish in this series of articles. 1) Show from Scripture the importance of the word and reading, 2) Explain a couple of ways reading is being eroded in our culture and the danger that this poses to people’s souls, and 3) Give some suggestions as to how you can wield your influence on others to stem the tide of this erosion in your families and churches.

God has chosen to act through words. For example, God used words to create. He said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). Jesus calmed the sea with the words, “Peace, Be still” (Mark 4:39).

It’s interesting that in Revelation 19:15 the conquering Christ is pictured as a having a sword in his mouth rather than in His hand as one might have predicted. I take this to mean that Christ will conquer with the word of His mouth rather than the might of his arm.

God uses His word to call things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). He did this when he called creation into existence and when he brings the light of salvation into the dead soul.

Finally, God the son is called the Word in John 1:1. He is God’s ultimate communication to us. In fact, the writer of the Hebrews in chapter 1 tells us that God has spoken in times past in various ways through the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us in Son. His Son is the language God used to bring His saving message to the world.

So clearly, God has chosen to use words to act in this world. Next time we’ll examine the concept of the written word.