Word Limits

Dave Brisbin | 12.2.18 When we say to each other, just give it to the Lord, surrender your life to Jesus, or let go and let God... When we say, ask Jesus into your heart, pray about it, or you need to find God’s plan for your life…do we really know what we mean? And even if we do, does the person we’re speaking to have a chance at the same understanding? And even if they do, do they have any idea how to accomplish them? We can call them platitudes, but that makes them too easy to dismiss. They all carry truth—at least they were true when experienced by the person who coined them, but afterward, when put into words, they became pointers that will only be true again when re-experienced by the hearer. If we’re going to be honest about our spiritual communication, we have to admit that words have limits, and dig deep to make sure we’re getting past mere mental concepts to the concrete experiential steps that are the only way to the truth we seek. If we know how to look, Scripture helps show us the process that each one of these aphorisms-become-platitudes is meant to describe. Aphorisms dealing with faith and trust, relationship, and decision making—words that are completely true but completely unhelpful at the same time—point us to scriptural passages that show us a way of life that makes the words true again.