words to live by

"The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked."

"In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding."

"The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth."

Proverbs 10:11, 13, 20

Solomon writes, over and over again in the book of Proverbs, about the power of the tongue for good and ill. We live in a physical universe that was created by the Word of God--it stands to reason that words, whether spoken or written, are more powerful than almost anything available to us.

Words inspire love or hatred. They stir up revolution and give revelation. They calm us, rile us, edify us, or get us into trouble. They set us apart from all other creatures. They enable us to open our very hearts.

For all that, sometimes I get sick of them. It's no secret that most people misuse their words. That's why Solomon was so harsh about "the mouth of the wicked"--even declaring that "the froward tongue shall be cut out" (Prov. 10:31).

In glorious contrast is "the mouth of a righteous man," "the tongue of the just." Life flows from a righteous man's words like water from a well. The just man's speech is richness--like well-tempered silver.

I'm currently reading the Gospel of John, and nothing strikes me so much as Jesus' words. They're powerful. Convicting. Sometimes confusing. Always, if we look at them in the light and don't just shove them under a religious bushel, shocking. The claims He made are beyond the scope of any mere man.

Yet, they give life. My spirit rises up to meet them, even the words I don't understand. In John, Jesus continually proclaims Himself. "I am the bread of life." "I am the light of the world." "I am the way, the truth, and the life." "I am the resurrection." "Before Abraham was, I am."

He is the Just One with eternal riches in His tongue. He is the Righteous Man whose words are a well of life. As He told the Samaritan woman, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life" (Jn 4:14).

As this new year begins, I challenge you to spend a great deal of your time listening to the words of Jesus Christ, especially in the four gospels. Read them. Memorize them. Let them sink in.

After Jesus claimed to be the food and drink that alone gives us true life (read John 6), many of those who had followed Him went away. His words were simply too much for them to handle. Jesus turned to His twelve disciples then and said,

"Will ye also go away?"

"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

This year, may the words of eternal life cause you to see Jesus more clearly.