How is it that two people can be sitting in the same pew (or row of chairs) . . . on the same Sunday . . . listening to the same sermon . . . and one comes away dry . . . and the other leaves the building jazzed? How is it that some people open their Bible and yawn their way through their daily reading . . . while others enthusiastically engage the Word as if on a treasure hunt? Probably a number of reasons . . . but one jumps out at me as I continue reading in 1Thessalonians this morning.

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.  
(1Thessalonians 2:13 ESV)

It makes a difference, it seems, how we approach the word of God. While nothing changes the fact that the Word is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12), it does seem that the Word’s effectiveness is related to how the hearer, or the reader, engages with it.

Paul says that the Word “is at work” or “puts forth power” in believers. Believer . . . less, I think, about what someone calls themselves . . . and more about what someone brings to the Holy Scriptures . . . bringing a starting presupposition that to open the Word, or to have the Word open to them, is to stand on holy ground . . . coming to the table with a forgone conclusion that the entirety of the Scripture they are about to receive is God breathed . . . priming the pump, as it were, with seeds of faith, believing that God’s word will accomplish God’s purpose when sown in good soil.

The Word doesn’t become true because we want to believe it’s true . . . it’s already the Truth. But when the power of the Truth gets unleashed is when God’s word is engaged with as the word of God.

Paul brought the living, life changing word of God to the city of Thessalonica . . . material capable of divine combustion. Some in the crowds Paul spoke to brought ears to hear . . . hearts ready to receive . . . an expectation that they were listening to God Himself through the Word . . . they brought faith . . . just a spark was all that was required. Mix the spark with the fuel and you have KA-BLAM! The gospel explodes on the scene . . . “not only in word, but also in power and the Holy Spirit” (1Thess. 1:8). Ordinary people receive the supernatural Word and they become children of God — both in form and in function . . . they become imitators of Christ . . . their faith grows . . . their testimony shows . . . and it all starts with priming the pump with a belief that the word of God is THE WORD of God.

Years and years ago, I was taught the importance of doing my part when it came to the Word of God. When the word is preached, mine is to actively engage with the message and discerningly interact with it as the Word of God proclaimed and explained. When I open my Bible in the morning, I should come expectantly . . . less concerned about making headway in my reading plan, but anticipating a close encounter of the divine kind . . . the psalmist’s prayer should be my passion, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Ps. 119:18).

I prime the pump with expectant faith . . . He fuels the fire with the Word . . . and the Spirit illuminates the secrets of the kingdom with power.

And the outcome, by God’s grace, is a life a bit more conformed to the image of Christ . . .

For His glory . . .